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THE CENTURY 

WORLD'S FAIR BOOK 

FOR BOYS AND GIRLS 

BEING THE ADVENTURES OF HARRY AND PHILIP 

WITH THEIR TUTOR, MR. DOUGLASS 

AT THE WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION 

BY /^ 

TUDOR JENKS 



WITH OFF-HAND SKETCHES BY HARRY 
AND SNAP-SHOTS BY PHILIP 
AND ILLUSTRATIONS BY BETTER-KNOWN ARTISTS 
1^ AND REPRODUCTIONS OF MANY PHOTOGRAPHS 



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THE CENTURY CO., NEW YORK 



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Copyright, 1893, by The Century Co. 



THE DE VINNE PRESS. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Started by Cable — The Journey by Sleeper — Arrival in Chicago - 
Finding Rooms — The Fair at Last! 



II The Fete Night — Rainbow Fountains — The Search-lights — On the 

Lake — The Fireworks — Passing a Wreck — Diving in the Grand Basin 17 

III The Party Separates — Harry Goes to the Battle-ship — The Govern- 

ment Building — The Convent and the Caravels — The Movable Side- 
walk 31 

IV Harry Returns to the Hotel — Philip Tells of his Blunder — The An- 

thropological Building — The Log Cabin — The Alaskan Village — The 
Old Whaling-ship " Progress " — A Sleepy Audience — Plans 43 

V A Place where Visitors were Scarce — The Rolling-chairs and Guides — 

Mistaken Kindness — Entering the Plaisance — The Javanese Village 
— Snap-shots — Cairo Street — The Card-writer — The Soudanese Baby 55 

VI The Midway Plaisance Visit Continued — Lunch at Old Vienna — The 

Ferris Wheel — The Ice Railway — The Moorish Palace — The Animal 
Show 71 

VII Harry Gets a Camera — The State and National Buildings — The Eskimo 

Village — Snap-shots Out of Doors — A Passing Glance at Horticul- 
tural Hall — Doing their Best 85 

VIII What People Said — The Children's Building — The Woman's Building — 

The Poor Boys' Expensive Lunch — The Life-saving Drill 99 

IX The Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building — A Rainy Day — A Sys- 

tematic Start — "Irish Day" — Harry Strikes — Some Minor Ex- 
hibits — The Few Things They Saw — The Elevator to the Roof . . 113 



VI HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 

PAGE 

X Philip at the Art Galleries — The Usual Discouragement — Walking 

Home — The "Santa Maria" under Sail 127 

XI Going after Letters — The Agricultural Building — Machinery Hall — 

Lunch at the Hotel — Harry's Proposal — Buffalo Bill's Great 
Show 141 

XII The Tally-ho — How it Dashed Along — The Parks Along the Lake — 

Chicago — The Auditorium and Other Sky-dwellers — The Whaleback 155 

XIII Philip's Day — Visits the Photographic Dark-room — The Fisheries 

Building — The Aquaria — Fishing Methods — The Government Build- 
ing — The Japanese Tea-house 171 

XIV The Convent of La RAbida — Old Books and Charts — Paintings — A 

Fortunate Glimpse of the "Santa Maria" — Portraits of Columbus — 
The Cliff-Dwellers — Cheap Souvenirs — World's Fairs in General . 187 

XV The Electricity Building — Small Beginnings — A New Souvenir — The 

Curious Exhibits — Telephones and Colored Lights — The Telauto- 
graph — Telegraphy — Mines and Mining — A Puzzled Guard .... 197 

XVI The "Golden Doorway" — Transportation Building — An Endless Ar- 

ray — Bicycles, Boats, and Bullock- wagons — The Annex — The Rail- 
road Exhibits 209 

XVII A Rainy Day — The Plaisance Again — The Glass-works — The German 

Village — The Irish Village — Farewell to the Phantom City. . . 221 

XVIII Packing for Home — A Glimpse of Niagara — Philip Tells His Adven- 

ture — Foiling a Clever Swindler — A Convincing Exposure .... 231^ 

XIX Mr. Douglass has a Remarkable Experience 239 




PORTION OF FRIEZE, HORTICULTURAL HALL. 



PEDIMENT OF WOMAN S BUILDING. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 

The White City Frontispiece 

The Soudanese Baby Title-page 

View From the Ferris Wheel ■ xiii 

The Administration Building xiv 



CHAPTER I.— THE JOURNEY 

Here are the Tickets i 

The Foundation of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building 2, 3 

A Wilderness of Iron. — Building IVIachinery Hall 4 

One of the Decorators at Work 6 

Making "Staff" 7 

The "Court of Honor" as it Looked in June, 1892 8 

" Yo' Section Ready, Sah ! " 10 

The Opening of the Fair, May i, 1S93. — The President of the United States Speaking 11 

Ground-plan of the World's Fair Grounds 12 

" Hi, there, Mama ! Here 's Roomers ! " 14 

Here we Are ! 15 



CHAPTER II.— THE FETE NIGHT 



Administration Building 16 

A Ticket of Admission 17 

Interior of the Dome of the Administration Buildmg 18 

A Group of Statuary on the Administration Building — " The Glorification of War" 19 

The Great Fountain, " The Triumph of the Republic " 20 

A Nearer View of the Fountain 21 

" He 's a Cowboy " 22 

The Grand Basin from a Balcony of the Administration Building 23 



VIU HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 

PAGE 

The Peristyle, East End of the Court of Honor 24 

The Statue of " The RepubHc " 25 

View Looking North from the Dome of the Administration Building — Just before Sunset 26 

" There was Room for Another Boy Inside, — and Harry Made a Sketch of It " 27 

A View from the Lion Fountain 28 

Evening on the Canal 29 

View from the Island at Night 30 



CHAPTER III.— HARRY'S DAY 

Building the Battle-ship. November, 1891 32 

The Battle-ship as It Looked in January, 1892 33 

The Battle-ship on Decoration Day, May 30, 1893 34 

The United States Government Building 35 

The Viking Ship 36 

Two Little Tars Going to See the Model of a Man-of-war ■^'j 

The Caravel " Santa Maria " 38 

" Guarding " the " Niiia " 39 

The New " Santa Maria " Crossing the Ocean 40 

The Caravel " Nina " 41 



CHAPTER IV.— PHILIP'S DAY 

" Cholly " Speechless 42 

" A Splendid Meat Supper for 25 Cents ! " 43 

A " Loop " of the Intramural Railway 44 

General View of the Court of Honor, Looking Toward the Lake 45 

" Don't Fail to See This Exhibit " 46 

An Alaskan Image 47 

The Whaling-ship 48 

The Windmills 49 

The Wooded Island at Twilight 50 

A Launch-landing 52 

In Front of the Transportation Building 53 



CHAPTER v.— THE MIDWAY PLAISANCE 

In Cairo Street 54 

A Suggestion of the ' ' Plaisance " 55 

The Kodaker S5 

Morning, Outside Main Entrance 56 

Chair-boys at Work ! 56 

'■ Puck" Building 57 

The Water-wheel in the Javanese Village 58 

The Javanese Musicians 59 

The Javanese Baby 60 

" The Man Stood up Beside Her, and They were Photographed Together " 61 

" He was Lazily Sunning Himself " 61 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix 



PAGE 



A Young Lady from Java 62 

A Kodak Permit 62 

The " Donkey-boys " 63 

An Arab Street-sweeper 64 

Philip Rodman's Card 64 

In Cairo Street 65 

The Soudanese Baby 66 

The Flower-girl 67 

" ' He Laughs Best who Laughs Last '" . 68 

In Cairo Street 69 



CHAPTER VI.— THE MIDWAY PLAISANCE (Continued) 

The Ferris Wheel 70 

The Performing Bear 71 

Old Vienna 72 

Going into the Cars of the Ferris Wheel 73 

From the Ferris Wheel — Looking East 74 

From the Ferris Wheel — Looking West 75 

A View Through the Ferris Wheel 76 

Looking Up at the Ferris Wheel 77 

A View Taken at Full Speed on the Ice Railway 78 

A Sleeping Lioness 79 

Aleal-time 79 

Sketch of a Tiger ... 80 

Young Lion Asleep 80 

A Lion's Head 81 

The Polar Bear 82 

The Lion King 82 

A Tiger on a Tricycle 82 

A Tiger on a Ball 83 

Head of a Lioness 83 



CHAPTER VII.— THE STATE AND NATIONAL BUILDINGS 

"A Bubble of Light." The Dome of the Horticultural Building by Night 84 

A Greeting from the British Lion 85 

The Century Co's Room in the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building 86 

Victoria House 88 

India House 89 

The Massachusetts State Building 90 

The New York State Building 91 

The Ohio State Building 92 

The California State Building 93 

A Group of Eskimo 94 

Eskimo Woman and Children 94 

Eskimo Group with Snow House 95 

The Eskimo and Their Dogs 95 

" The Sleep of the Flowers " — A Bas-relief on the Horticultural Building 96 

General View of the Horticultural Building 97 



X HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 

CHAPTER VIII.— THE CHILDREN'S AND THE WOMAN'S BUILDINGS 

PAGE 

An Unframed Picture 98 

A Chair-load : 99 

The Children's Building 100 

The Gymnasium : Children's Building loi 

The Library : Children's Building 103 

Teaching the Deaf: Children's Building 104 

The Nursery : Children's Building 105 

The Top of the Woman's Building 106 

The Woman's Building 107 

Harry's Card 108 

Philip's Weight-ticket 109 

An Umbrella Exhibit 1 10 

The Life-saving Boat ill 



CHAPTER IX.— THE MANUFACTURES AND LIBERAL ARTS BUILDING 

Just from the Ranch 112 

A Distorting Mirror 113 

General View of Building for Manufactures and the Liberal Arts 114 

Porch of Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building 115 

Another View of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building 1 16 

From a Window in the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, Looking Northwest 117 

The Arts of War : A Mural Painting in One of the Porches of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts 

Building 1 18 

One of the Domes of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building. Painted by J. Carroll Beckwith 1 19 

Part of Group above Main Entrance of Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building 120 

" — And the Cat Came Back" 122 

A Japanese Carving 122 

The Hunters' Camp 123 

Interior of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building — Showing the Elevators 124 

The Fire-boat " Fire Queen " 125 

The Roof-walk, Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building 126 



CHAPTER X.— THE FINE ARTS BUILDING 

In the Art Gallery 127 

An Artist's View of the Fine Arts Building 128 

An Interior View of the Dome of the Fine Arts Building 129 

A View of the Fine Arts Building from near the New York State Building 130 

In Front of the Fine Arts Building 131 

Boy with a Dove : Carving in Ivory by Asahi Hatsu 132 

" Little Nell," from a Group, " Dickens and Little Nell," by F. Edwin Elwell 133 

A Part of the Great Painting, " The Flagellants," by Carl Marr 135 

" The Mother." Painted by Alice D. Kellogg 136 

A Fellow-critic 137 

The Grandmother of the Swedish Artist Zorn. From the Original Carving in Birch-wood (six 

inches high) by Zorn 138 

The Caravels 140 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XI 
CHAPTER XL- THE AGRICULTURAL AND THE MACHINERY BUILDINGS 

PAGE 

Part of Louisiana Gateway 141 

The Agricultural Building — Toward Evening 142 

Agricultural Building, North Front, Seen from the Grand Basin 144 

Japanese Jars and Box 145 

One of the Panels (" Summer ") in the Portico of the Agricultural Building. Painted by George 

W. Maynard 145 

Great Central Porch of Agricultural Building 146 

Portico of the Agricultural Building 147 

The Connecting Screen of Corridors between the Machinery and Agricultural Buildings 148 

Figure in Window-frame of Machinery Hall 149 

Machinery Hall 149 

A Suggestion of the "Wild West" — Remington's Famous Picture, "The Bucking Bronco". . , . 150 

An Aboriginal 151 

A Syrian Acrobat 152 

A Cowboy 153 



CHAPTER XII.— THE CITY OF CHICAGO 

A Chicago Street 154 

Fort Dearborn (Chicago, 1804-1816) 155 

Memorial Building, on the Site where the Great Fire Started 155 

Driveways of the Grand Boulevard 156 

Map showing the Park System of Chicago 157 

View on State Street, Looking Northward from Madison Street 158 

The City Hall, Chicago 159 

The Post-office 159 

House of John Kinzie, the First White Settler 160 

The Auditorium, Michigan Avenue and Congress Street 161 

The Art Institute, Michigan Avenue 161 

The Woman's Temple, La Salle and Monroe Streets 161 

Masonic Temple, State and Randolph Streets 161 

The Lake-shore Drive 162 

View on Michigan Avenue, Chicago 163 

The Rookery and the Board of Trade Building 164 

A Street Bridge across the Chicago River, Swung Open for the Passage of Boats 165 

Fishing for Perch from the Breakwater, Chicago 166 

The Great Fire at Chicago, October, 1871 167 

The Whaleback, LTpper Deck 168 

The Whaleback, Lower Deck 168 

The Whaleback 169 



CHAPTER XI 11. —THE FISHERIES AND GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS 

General View of Fisheries Pavilion 170 

An Ornament on the Fisheries Building 171 

Capital in Fisheries Building 172 

Skeleton of a Whale 173 

Flying-fish 173 



XU HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



PAGE 



A Fishing-boat : Group in Government Building 174 

Model of a Group of Indian Metal-workers, in the Government Building 175 

Model of an Indian Warrior: Government Building 176 

Model of a Group of Zunis : Government Building 177 

Army Wagons, War Department, Government Building 178 

Guns, Torpedoes, and Flags : Government Building lyg 

The World's Fair Post-office : Government Building 180 

An Old-fashioned Mail-coach : Government Building , 180 

" Furthest North" : Government Building 181 

The Big Tree : Government Building 182 

Ordnance Department, United States Army 183 

Mail-sledge and Dogs: Government Building 184 

The Japanese " House of the Phcenix" on the Wooded Island 185 

Portrait of Columbus, by Lorenzo Lotto, 1512 186 



CHAPTER XIV.— THE CONVENT AND THE CLIFF-DWELLERS 

An Ancient Caravel 187 

The Original Convent of La Rabida, in Spain 188 

The Convent of La Rabida at the Fair 189 

Cell of the Prior Marchena in the Original Convent, — the "Columbus Room " in the Model at 

the Fair igo. 

House in Genoa, said to be the Birthplace of Columbus igi 

Departure of Columbus on his Voyage to America. (In the Convent of La Rabida) 193 

A Lamp 194 

A Bear 194 

Harry's Restoration of a Clifif-Dweller 194 

The Chfif-Dwellers' Mound 195 

View Looking South from the Top of the Woman's Building — by Moonlight 196 



CHAPTER XV. -THE ELECTRICITY AND THE MINING BUILDINGS 

The Electricity Building 198 

Porch of Electricity Building igg 

Statue of Benjamin Franklin at the Main Entrance of the Electricity Building 201 

Model of a Lake Superior Copper-Mine : Mining Building 202 

Mines and Mining Building 203 

An Exhibit of Rails : Mining Building 204 

Twisted Iron: Mining Building 205 

South Porch of Mines Building 207 



CHAPTER XVI.— THE TRANSPORTATION BUILDING 

The "Golden Doorway" and Part of the Transportation Building — on a Quiet Afternoon 208 

The Crowd Coming in with Lunches ..... ' 209 

Figure of Brakeman, Transportation Building 210 

Bit of Ornament, Transportation Building 211 

The " Golden Doorway," Transportation Building 213 

A Section of a Steamship 215 

The " De Witt Clinton " Train 216 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS XIU 

PAGE 

The "John Bull" Train 217 

Interior of a Pullman Car 218 

Model of the British Battle-ship "Victoria " -. 219 



CHAPTER XVII.— THE MIDWAY PLAISANCE AGAIN 

In the Lapland Village 220 

A Boy from Johore 221 

The Venetian Glass-blowers 222 

Little Dahomey Boy, and His Playthings 223 

An Actor in the Chinese Theater 224 

A Chinese Mama and Her Baby 225 

Interior of the Java Theater 226 

The South Sea Islanders 227 

A Pass for the South Sea Island Village 228 

The Algerian Theater 229 

One of the Two Irish Villages 230 

CHAPTER XVIII.— PHILIP'S ADVENTURE 

A Kodaker Caught 232 

Registering in New York State Building 233 

Along the Lake . 234 

The Dark-room 235 

Lunching Outdoors 236 

Wonderful ! 237 

CHAPTER XIX.— MR. DOUGLASS'S REMARKABLE EXPERIENCE 

The Ferris Wheel, from " Old Vienna " 238 

A Glimpse of the Horticultural Dome 240 

The Fisheries Building, from across the Lagoon 241 

At a Drinking-fountain 242 

A Little Visitor 243 

The 194,000,000 Candle-power Search-light 245 

In the Midway Plaisance 246 




VIEW FROM THE FERRIS WHEEL. 




THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING. 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 




CHAPTER I 

Started by Cable — The Jourttey by Sleeper — Arrival in Chicago — Finding 

Rooms — The Fair at Last ! 

MR. DOUGLASS wants to see you, Master Harry," 
said the maid, coming to the door of the boys' room. 
"What 's he found out now, I wonder?" said Harry to 
PhiHp, in a low tone. " I don't remember anything I have 
done lately." 

" He 's in a hurry, too," said the girl, closing the door. 
Harry ran down to Mr. Douglass's room on the first 
HERE ARE THE TICKETS, floor. The two boys were beginning their preparation 
for college, and were living in a suburb of New York city with their tutor, 
Mr. Douglass, a college graduate, and a man of about thirty-five. Harry's 
father, Mr. Blake, was abroad on railroad business, and did not expect to 
return for some months. Philip was Harry's cousin, but the two boys were 
very unlike in disposition — as will be seen. Their bringing up may have 
been responsible for some of the differences in traits and character, for Harry 
was a city boy, while his cousin was country-bred. 

When Harry knocked at the door of Mr. Douglass's study, he knew by 
the tutor's tone in inviting him in that the teacher had not called him 
simply for a trivial reprimand. It was certainly something serious; perhaps 
news from Harry's father and mother. 

"Sit down, Harry," said the tutor, — "and don't be worried," he added, 
seeing how solemn the boy looked. " I have had a message by cable from 
your father; but it 's good news, not bad. Read it." 
He handed Harry the despatch. It read : 

Take Hal and Phil to Fair. My expense. Letter to Chicago. See Farwell about mone)' 
and tickets. 

" Rather sudden, is n't it?" said Mr. Douglass, smiling. 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 




THE FOU.NDATION OF THE MANUFACTURES 



"Yes," said Harry, "but — immense! Don't you think so?" 

" I 'm glad to go," the tutor said. " It seems to me that a visit to the 
Fair is worth more than all the studying here you boys could do in twice 
the time you '11 spend there ; and it 's a lucky opportunity for me." 

"Then you '11 go?" said Harry, to whom the news seemed a bit of fairy 
story come true, with the Atlantic cable for a magic wand. 

" Of course," answered the tutor. " The only thing that surprises me is 
the quickness of your father's decision." 

"That 's just like him," said Harry. " He 's a railroad man, you know, 
and they always go at high pressure. Why, he 'd rather talk by telephone, 
even when he can't get anything but a buzz and a squeak on the wire, than 
send a messenger who 'd get there in half the time." 

" But has he said anything about sending you before?" 

" No. The fact is, people abroad are slow to know what a whacker 
this Fair is ! They think it 's a mere foreign exposition. Father 's just 
found out that Uncle Sam has covered himself with glory, and now he 
wants Phil and me to see the bird from beak to claws — the whole American 
Eagle." 

" But sha'n't we have trouble about tickets ? " asked Mr. Douglass. 

" No," said Harry. " Father 's a railroad man. That 's what ' See 
Farwell' means. You let me go to see him. He 's the general manager, 
or some high-cockalorum. He '11 see us through by daylight." 

"Very well," said Mr. Douglass, "I 'm just as glad to go as you are. 
Philip and I will attend to the packing, and you shall go to New York this 
afternoon and see Mr. Farwell. Now you can tell Philip about it." 



STARTED BY CABLE 




A2CD LIBERAL ARTS BUILDING. 



Harry ran out of the room, slamming the door behind him, but Mr. 
Douglass only laughed. Perhaps he would have slammed it, too, if he 'd 
been in the boy's place. 

"Well?" said Philip, looking up from the Xenophon he was translating. 

"Thanks be to Christopher Columbus!" said Harry, with a jig-step. 

" Has he done anything new?" Philip asked, looking over his spectacles. 

" I guess not," said Harry, "but we 're going to the Fair." 

" How can we ? " Philip asked. 

Harry threw the cable despatch down upon the table, and turned to get 
his hat. Philip read the telegram, carefully wiped his glasses, rose, put the 
Xenophon into its place upon his book-shelves, and said : 

" Xenophon will have to g.ttend to his own parasangs for a while." 

" You pack up for me, and I '11 see to the railroad-tickets," said Harry. 
" I have just about time to catch the train for New York." 

That was a hard and busy day for all three of the party. Perhaps 
Harry's share was the easiest, for, by showing his father's despatch to Mr. 
Farwell, he had everything made easy for him. Still, even influence might 
not have secured them places except for the aid of chance. It happened 
that a prominent man had, at the last moment, to give up a section in the 
Wagner sleeper, and this was turned over to Harry. So, late in the after- 
noon the boy came back with what he called "three gilt-edged accordion- 
pleated tickets." 

Meanwhile Mr. Douglass and Philip had put into three traveling-bags 
as much as six would hold, and the party went to bed early to get a good 
rest before the long journey. 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 




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Next day at nearly half-past four the three travelers walked through the 
passageway at the Grand Central Depot, had their tickets punched, — and 
Philip noticed that the man at the gate kept tally on a printed list of the 
numbers of different tickets presented, — and entered the mahogany and 
blue-plush Wagner cars. 

In a few minutes some one said quietly: "All right," and the train 
gently moved out. 

" I can remember," said Mr. Douglass, " when a train started with a shock 



THE JOURNEY BY SLEEPER 5 

like a Japanese earthquake. Now this seemed to glide out as if saying, 'Oh, 
by the way, I think I '11 go to Chicago ! ' " 

Harry laughed. "Yes," he said, "and how little fuss there is about it. 
Why, abroad, I remember that they had first a bell, then a yell, then a 
scream, then the steam ! " 

As the train passed through the long tunnel just after leaving the station, 
Mr. Douglass remarked : 

" How monotonous those dark arches of brickwork are ! " 

" Yes," said Philip, " they should have a set of frescos put in them." 

" But no one could see the pictures," said Mr. Douglass, "we pass them 
so fast." 

" That 's true," said Harry, with a pretended sigh ; " but they might have 
to be instantaneous photographs." 

Philip looked puzzled for a minute and then laughed. After they left 
the tunnel, they passed through the suburbs of New York, entered a narrow 
cut that turned westward, and were soon sailing along the Hudson River — 
or so it seemed. There was no shore visible beside them, except for an 
occasional tumble-down dock, and beyond lay the river — a soft, gray expanse 
relieved against the Palisades, and later against more distant purple hills. 
It was a rest for their eyes to see only an occasional sloop breaking the long 
stretch of water, and the noise of the train was lessened because there was 
nothing to echo back the sounds from the river. 

Mr. Douglass found his pleasure in the scenery, the widenings of the 
river, the soft outlines of the hills, the long reflection of the setting sun. 
But the boys cared more to see the passengers. 

"Is n't it funny," said Philip, "how Americans take things as a mat- 
ter of course ? I really believe that if the train was a sort of Jules Verne- 
unlimited express for the planet Mars, the people would all look placid and 
read the evening papers." 

"Of course," said Harry. "What else can they do? Would you expect 
me to go forward and say: 'Dear Mr. Engineer, but do you really 
think you know what all these brass and steel things are ? Don't you feel 
scared ? Won't you lie down awhile on the coal, while I run the engine 
for you ? ' " 

"Nonsense!" said Philip, laughing. "But they might show some in- 
terest." 

"They do," said Harry; "but that 's not what I 'm thinking of I 'm 
thinking I '11 be a civil engineer." 

"Why?" said Philip. 

"Just think," Harry answered, pointing from the car window, "what a 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



good time they must have had laying out this road ! Why, it was just 
a camping-out froHc, that 's all it was." 



^,jy!C7iE^K».iTiiiil*ifiTjHi 



■7 




ONE OF THE DECORATORS AT WORK. 



"Did n't you hear the waiter say dinner was ready?" said Mr. Douglass. 

"No," said Philip; "but I knew it ought to be, if they care for the feelings 
of their passengers. Where is the dining-car?" 

"Atthe end of the train," said Mr. Douglass. "Come, we '11 walk through." 

So, in single file ("like cannibals on the trail of a missionary," Harry 
said), they passed from car to car. The cars were connected by vestibules 



THE JOURNEY BY SLEEPER 7 

— collapsible passageways, folding like an accordion — and it was not 
necessary to go outside at all. The train was an unbroken hallway. 

" It is much like a long, narrow New York flat," said Philip. " People 
who live in flats must feel perfectly at home when they travel in these cars." 

They found the dining-car very pretty and comfortable. Along one side 
were tables where two could sit, face to face. On the opposite side of the 
aisle the tables accommodated four. The boys and their tutor took one of 
the larger tables. The bill of fare was that of a well-appointed hotel or res- 
taurant, — soup, fish, entrees, joint, and dessert, — and it was difficult to 




MAKING STAFF. 



realize that they were eating while covering many miles an hour ; in fact, 
the only circumstance that was a reminder of the journeying was a slight 
rim around the edge of the table to keep the dishes from traveling too. 
"It is strange," said Mr. Douglass, "how people have learned to eat 
dishes in a certain order, such as you see on a bill of fare. Probably this 
order of eating is the result of tens of millions of experiments, and therefore 
the best way." 



THE JOURNEY BY SLEEPER " 9 

"The best for us," said Philip; "but how about the Chinese?" 

Mr. Douglass had to confess himself the objection well taken. 

" I believe the Chinese were created to be the exceptions to all rules," 
he said. 

The dining-car had an easy, swaying motion that was very pleasant, 
and altogether the dinner was a most welcome change from the ordinary 
routine of a railway journey. 

As the boys walked back to their own section, Philip noticed a little 
clock set into the woodwork at one end of the smoking-car. He was sur- 
prised to see that it had two hour-hands, one red and one black. 

He pointed it out to Mr. Douglass, who told him that the clock indi- 
cated both New York and Chicago times — which differ by an hour, one 
following what is called " Eastern," the other "Central" time. 

By the time they were again settled in their places it was dark outside ; 
and, as Philip poetically said, they seemed to be "boring a hole through a 
big dark." One of the colored porters looked curiously at Philip, as if he 
had overheard this rem.ark without understanding its poetical bearing. 

" He thinks you are a Western desperado ! " said Harry, with a grin. 

" Boys," said Mr. Douglass, " the porters will soon make up the beds, 
and I want you to see how ingeniously everything is arranged." 

Here is what the porter did : 

He stood straddling on two seats, turned a handle in the top of a panel, 
and pulled down the upper berth. It moved on hinges, and was supported 
after the manner of a book-shelf by two chains that ran on spring pulleys. 

Then he fastened two strong wire ropes from the upper to the lower 
berths. 

" What 's that for ? " asked Harry. 

"To prevent passengers from being smashed flat by the shutting up of 
the berth," Philip answered, after a moment's puzzling over the question. 

" You can have the upper berth, Philip," said Harry, impressively. " It 's 
better ventilated than the lower, they say; but I don't mind that." 

Meanwhile the porter took from the upper berth two pieces of mahogany, 
cut to almost fill the space between the tops of the seats and the side roofs 
of the car. The edges were grooved, and slid along upon and closely fitted 
the top of the seat and a molding on the roof These side-pieces were next 
fastened by a brass bolt pushed up from the end of the seat-back. 

Then the bed-clothing (kept by day in the lower seats and behind the 
upper panel) was spread on the upper berth, and the mattress of the lower 
berth was made up from the seat-cushions, supported upon short slats set 
from seat to seat. 



lO 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



While the beds were being made, the boys were amused to see some 
ladies laughing at the man's method of getting the clothes and pillows into 
place. A woman seems to coax the bed into shape, but a man bullies it 
into submission. 

"They think it's funny to see him make a bed," said Harry, in an 
undertone; "but if they were to try to throw a stone, or bait a fish-hook, 
I guess the darky would have a right to smile some too." 

To finish his work, the porter hung a thick pair of curtains on hooks 
along a horizontal pole, and then affixed a long plush strip to which were 
fastened large gilt figures four inches high — the number of the section. 

" It would be fun to change the numbers around," remarked Harry, 
pensively. " Then nobody would know who he was when he got up. But 
perhaps it would make a boy unpopular if he was caught at it." 

Mr. Douglass admitted that it might. 
As the porter made up their own section, 
Harry pulled out his sketch-book and made a 
little picture of him. 

" It 's hard times on the railroad now," he 
remarked, as he finished the sketch. "See how 
short they have to make the porters' jackets ! 
But it must save starch !" 

The boys had wondered how the people 
would get to bed, but there seemed no diffi- 
culty about it. As for our boys, who had the 
upper berth, one by one they took off their 
shoes, coats and vests, etc., and then climbed 
behind the curtains, where they put their paja- 
mas over their underclothes. 
After they were in bed, they talked but little, for they were tired. 
" This rocking makes me drowsy," Philip said ; " it 's like a cradle." 
"Yes," Harry answered, as the car lurched a little — "a cradle rocked by 
a mother with the St. Vitus's dance ! " 

While going to sleep, the boys were puzzled to account for the strange 
noises made by the train. At times it seemed to have run over a china- 
shop, and at other times the train rumbled hoarsely, as if it were running 
over the top of an enormous bass-drum. 

Soon the great train was transporting two boys who were fast asleep 
in Section No. 1 2 ; they woke fitfully during the night, but only vaguely 
remembered where they were, until the cold light of morning was reflected 
from the top of the car. 




YO SECTION KEADY, SAH ! 



THE JOURNEY BY SLEEPER 



II 



Dressing was more difficult than going to bed, but by a combination of 
patience and gymnastics Harry and Philip were soon able to take places in 
the line that led to the wash-room. Thence, later, they came forth ready for 
breakfast (for which they had to "line up" again), and another all-day ride. 




THE OPENING OF THE FAIR, MAY I, 1893. — THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES SPEAKING. 

At breakfast, the next table to them was occupied by a gentleman named 
Phinney, and his son. Harry knew the son slightly, having once been his 
schoolmate. Young Phinney was making a second visit to the Fair, and he 
told Harry that on the former trip the train had run around Niagara 
Falls in such a way as to give the passengers an opportunity to view them. 



ARRIVAL AT CHICAGO 1 3 

The train had stopped there for five minutes, and they had climbed down 
near the rapids to a point where there was an excellent view of " the great 
cataract" — so young Phinney called it. He gave the boys some pictures 
showing the falls, and indeed there was a picture of the falls upon the side 
of the breakfast bill of fare. 

During the forenoon the train was passing through Canada — the boys' 
impression of that country being a succession of flat fields, ragged woods, 
sheep, swine, and a few pretty, long-tailed ponies grazing upon browning 
turf Philip said that it was like "the Adirondacks spread flat by a giant- 
ess's rolling-pin." 

At Windsor the train, separated into sections, was run upon a ferry-boat 
(upon which one small room was marked "U. S. Customs") and carried over 
to Detroit. Here j\Ir. Douglass made the boys laugh by suddenly jumping 
back from the window. He had been startled by a large round brush that 
was poked against the Avindow from outside to dust it. 

From Detroit the train ran through Michigan — mainly through a flat 
country of rich farming land. Philip, who had never been West, was much 
surprised at the uninterrupted stretches of level ground. Mr. Douglass asked 
him what he thought of the region. Philip adjusted his glasses and replied 
slowly: "Well, it 's fine for the farmers, but it is no place for speaking Wil- 
liam Tell's piece about 'Ye crags and peaks, I 'm with you once again!'" 

"You must not forget, though," said Mr. Douglass, "that it is the rich 
farming lands that really underlie America's prosperity. When you see the 
Fair, you will understand better what a rich nation we are ; but without our 
great wheat-lands we should, like England, be dependent upon commerce 
for our very existence." 

The boys were much less talkative as the train neared Chicago. They 
were somewhat tired, and were also thinking of the amount of walking and 
sicfht-seeino- that was before them. 

All at once, at about half-past five, New York time (for the travelers had 
not yet changed their watches to an hour earlier), Mr. Douglass pointed out 
of the right-hand forward window. Both boys looked. There, in the dis- 
tance, rose above the city houses a gilded dome, and from the opposite car- 
window they saw just afterward a spider-web structure. 

"I know it!" Philip sang out; "that 's the Administration Building. 
But what is the other ? " 

"The Ferris W^heel," answered Harry. 

"Yes," said the tutor, "we are going to leave the car not far from the 
Plaisance gate." 

" Sixtieth street next ! " cried the brakeman. 



H 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



" Come, we get out here. It 's nearest the grounds, and I have been 
told it is wise to lodge as near as possible." 

When the cars stopped, the party descended upon a platform with 
"rails to the right of them, rails to the left of them," and trains and crowds 
in all directions. Mr. Douglass led the way out into the huddled settlement 
of apartment-houses, hotels, and lodgings that has sprung into existence 
around Jackson Park, the Fair Grounds. 

Then began their search for rooms. At first it seemed discouraging; 
neatness outside was not always a sign of what to expect inside. They 
labored up-stairs and down again several times. At one attractive private 
house they entered, expecting quiet, homelike rooms. In the tiny parlor 
they found five cots set "cheek by jowl" as close as they could be jammed. 
They smiled at this, but found the rest of the rooms as fully utilized. Mr. 
Douglass made some objection, and was told by the self-possessed landlady 
that " some very fine gentlemen thought her fifty-cent beds were very 
elegant." At another house they were passing, a boy who could n't 
have been over five years old rushed out like a little Indian 
on the warpath, crying, "Hi! You lookin' fer rooms?" 
Amused at the little fellow's enterprise, our travelers fol- 
lowed him, the boy going forward on his sturdy little 
legs, and crying, "Hi, there, Mama! Here 's roomers 
I got you some roomers ! " 

But unfortunately the boy proved more attrac- 
tive than the rooms. After a long walk, but with- 
out going far from the Fair Grounds, they took 
rooms at a very good hotel. The price was high, 
perhaps, but reasonable considering the advan- 
tages and the demand for lodgings. They took two rooms, one with a 
double bed for the boys, the other a single room for the tutor. 

Gladly they dropped the satchels that had made their muscles ache, and 
after leaving the keys of their rooms with the hotel clerk, they set forth for 
their first visit to the Fair. In order that guests should not forget to leave 
their keys, each was inserted at right angles into a nickel-plated strip of 
metal far too long to go comfortably into the pocket even of an absent- 
minded German professor. 

" One advantage of being in a hotel," said Mr. Douglass, as they walked 
toward the entrance of the grounds, "is the fact that on rainy, disagreeable 
days we can get meals there if we choose. It is not always pleasant to 
have to hunt breakfast through the rain. But usually we shall dine where 
we happen to be in the grounds ; there are restaurants of all sorts near the 
exhibits, from a lunch-counter up." 




" HI, THERE, MAMA ! 
HERE 'S ROOMERS ! " 



THE FAIR AT LAST 



15 



Alono- the sidewalk that led from their hotel to the entrance were dining-- 
rooms, street-peddlers' counters, peddlers with trays — all meant as induce- 
ments to leave money in the great Western metropolis. One thing the 
boys found v-ery amusing was an Italian bootblack's stand surrounded on 
three sides by a blue mosquito-netting. 

" If it had been on all sides," said Harry, "I could have understood it, 
because it might be a fly-discourager. But now I think it must be only a 
way of attracting attention." 

They had arrived, luckily, on a "fete night." Though tired and hungry, 
they all agreed that it would never do not to take advantage of so excellent 
a chance to secure a favorable first impression. So they bought tickets at a 
little wooden booth, and, entering a turnstile one by one, were at last in the 
great White City. 




HEhE WE AKE 




ADMINISTRATION BUILDING. 



CHAPTER II 

The Fete Night — Rainbow Fountains — The Search-lights — On the Lake — 
The Fireworks — Passing a Wreck — Diving in the Grand Basin. 

"Well," remarked Harry, as the wicket turned and let him into the 
grounds, " if any one wishes to take down what I said on entering the grounds, 
he can write down these thrilling words: ' Here we are at last ! ' " 

"We won't try to do more than get a general idea of things to-night," 
said Mr. Douglass. "We shall find claims upon our eyesight at every step. 
But what a crowd ! " 

The crowd was certainly enormous. At first most of the people seemed 
to be coming out, but this idea was a mistake. It came from the fact that 



W>^ 

P 



C^3^— £.,.-2-^3-^^-- ~~c::ir-i:iil^^^ 



?J1 




PRESIDENT. 



A TICKET OF ADMISSION. 



those going the same way as our party attracted their attention less than 
those whom they met and had to pass. 

They walked between the Pennsylvania Railroad exhibit and the Trans- 
portation Building, and entered the Administration Building, which seemed 
the natural gateway to the Court of Honor and its Basin — always the cen- 
tral point of interest. The paving seemed to be a composition not unlike 



i8 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



the "staff" that furnished the material for the great buildings, the balus- 
trades, the statues, and the fountains. It was just at dusk, and the light was 
soft and pleasant to the eyes. Once in the Administration Building, all our 

sight-seers threw back their heads and 
gazed up within the dim and distant 
dome enriched by its beautiful frescos. 
"I have heard," said the tutor, who 
felt bound to serve as guide so far as 
his experience would warrant, " that 
people are unable to understand the 
vastness of St. Peter's dome at Rome. 
This dome is even higher, and so I feel 
sure that, large as it seems to us, our 
ideas of it fall far below the reality. 
However, we shall see this many times. 
Let us go on through, and see the Court 
of Honor." 

Leaving by the east portal, the 
three came out upon the broad plaza 
that fronts the basin. By this time 
the sky was a deep, dark blue, and 
every outline of the superb group of 
buildings was sharply relieved. 

For a while the three stood silent. 
There was nothing to say ; but each 
of them felt that the work of men's 
— had never come so near to rivaling 
Nature's inimitable glories. The full moon stood high above the build- 
ings at their right, but even her serenity could not make the great White 
City seem petty. 

The boys knew no words to express what they felt. They only knew that 
in their lives they had never been so impressed except when gazing upon a 
glorious sunset, an awe-inspiring thunderstorm, or the unmeasured expanse 
of the ocean. 

Philip was the first to speak. 

''Must it be taken down? Why could n't they leave it? It is — un- 
earthly ! " 

" Boys," said Mr. Douglass, " I don't preach to you often, and certainly 
there is no need of it now. But, at one time or another, each of us has 
tried to imagine what Heaven could be like. When we see this" and he 




INTERIOR OF THE DOME OF THE ADiMlNISTKATION BUILDING. 



hands ■ 



• of the human imagination- 




A GROUP OF STATL'ARY ON THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, THE GLORIFICATION OF WAR. 

looked reverently about him, " and remember that this is man's work, we 
can see how incapable we are of rising to a conception ot what Heaven 
might be." 

But their rhapsodies could not last long in such a pushing and throng- 
ing time. People brushed against them, talking and laughing ; the rolling- 
chairs zigzagged in and out, finding passageway where none appeared ; 
distant bands were playing, and all about them was the living murmur of 
humanity. Groups were sitting upon every available space : tired mothers 
with children, young men chatting, and serious-faced country people 
plodded silently along amid their gayer neighbors. 



THE FETE NIGHT 



21 



For a time the three wandered almost without purpose; then, reaching 
the further end of the Basin, they looked back at the superb MacMonnies 
Fountain — the galley that bore the proudly poised figure of Progress. 

Opposite, and facing the fountain, rose the massive but perhaps less 
expressive statue of the Republic. Though the boys were speechless with 




A NEARER VIEW OF THE FOUNTAIN. 



admiration, delight, and wonder, they found — as others have done — that fine 
sights do not satisfy the appetite any better than fine words butter parsnips. 
So Harry turned to Mr. Douglass, saying, " Mr. Douglass, don't you hear 
the dinner-horn ? It seems to me that I do." 

"All right," he answered; "let us go over to the Casino restaurant and 
have a comfortable dinner ; but first suppose we stop a moment for a look 
into the Electricity Building. I saw by a program posted up near the en- 
trance that it is open to-night." 

As they came nearer, they found the crowd rapidly increasing in density ; 
and when they entered, passing the heroic statue of Franklin, they found 
themselves entirely at the mercy of the moving throng of people. So thick 
were the sight-seers packed that the boys could see little except the great 
Edison Pillar, and that was visible only because it rose so high in air. 
While they watched the pillar, incrusted with incandescent lights, different- 



2 2 HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 

colored bulbs sprang into glowing life or faded out, showing a kaleidoscope 
of patterns changing continually. 

"We sha'n't get any dinner if we don't get out now," said Philip, who was 
struggling to keep his eye-glasses from being displaced. 

"Come, then," said Harry; and they turned to stem the tide. For a time 
they made slight progress ; but, luckily, a row of wheeling-chairs came charg- 
ing slowly but firmly, cutting a path by gentle persistence. Falling in be- 
hind these pioneers, they succeeded in escaping to the open air, and then 
made their way to the Casino. Just before reaching this great restaurant, 
they saw the convent of La Rabida, which appeared between the Agricultural 
Building and the Casino. 

"See !" said Philip. "There 's the model of the convent. Do you know 
what it reminds me of? It is like a little gray nun sitting demurely in the 
corner of a orand ball-room !" 

And, indeed, the unpretending little building was a distinct rest to the 
eye, after the proud proportions of its surroundings. As the statues spoke 
of the future, the convent reminded one of the past. 

Entering the Casino brought them back sharply to the present, with its 
needs and its inconveniences. The prosaic need for dinner was the first to 
be thought of, and, enormous as was the restaurant, the crowd that night 
filled every seat, and left plenty of stragglers to stand watchfully about, 
eager to fill themselves and any vacant chair. 

" Boys," said the tutor, sadly, " if we stand here an hour, it will be only a 
piece of luck if we find a place. Where shall we go ? " 

"I heard a man say that there was a lunch-counter in the southeastern 
corner of the Manufactures, etc., etc., Building," said Harry. "This is no 
time for French bills of fare and finger-bowls. Come, let 's go over there." 

No one cared to argue the question, and, keeping the lake on their right, 
they crossed to the largest building, and found a primitive lunch-counter on 
the ground floor. Boys and rough-looking men, perched 
on high stools, shouted out orders to "girls" from eighteen 
to fifty years old. 

After waiting a few minutes, Mr. Douglass found a seat, 
which the boys insisted he should take, and a little later they 
"''_^ found two together. The man who left the seat Harry 
"HE'S A COW-BOY." crowdcd into had on a wide-brimmed felt hat, the edges of 
which had been perforated all around in openwork. 

" He 's a cow-boy," Harry whispered in delighted tones. 

Meanwhile Philip was trying to attract the attention of the very stout 
and independent young girl who waited upon that section of the counter. 




THE FETE NIGHT 



23 



He raised his hand, but she only sneered and remarked, "I see yer!" which' 
brought a roar of laughter from some talkative customers. Soon, however, 




THE GRAND BASIN FROM A BALCONY OF THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING. 

she condescended to turn an ear in the boys' direction, and they succeeded 
in ordering two sandwiches and two cups of coffee. When they had finished, 
Harry said, " Phil, we '11 forgive the sandwiches for the sake of the coffee ! " 

After this hasty supper, Mr. Douglass told them that there were two fine 
displays that evening — the electric fountains and fireworks on the lake-front. 

"Let us see both," said Harry. "There 's a place for launches down 
by the Basin, and the man was yelling out when I came by: 'One launch is 
going to stay awhile in the Basin, and then going out into the lake,' — I 
think he said at half-past seven." 

Philip looked at his watch. "We 're too late by half an hour," he said 
impatiently. 

"Why, no, Philip," said Mr. Douglass. "Our watches show New York 
time. We have half an hour to spare." 



24 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



"True," answered the boy. "You are right. I had forgotten that; 
and, by the way, now is a good time to reset our watches." 

So they turned the hands back an hour, and felt thankful that another 
sixty minutes had been added to the evening. 




THE PERISTYLE, EAST END OF THE COUKT OF HONOR. 



" Now," said Mr. Douglass, " I have a popular motion to present. It is 
moved that we cease movine. and sit down for a while." 

" Seconded and carried ! " cried Harry ; " and, what 's more, I see some 
chairs"; and he pointed to a row that were strangely vacant, while all 
around were occupied. The boys walked toward them. Suddenly Harr)', 
who was ahead, came back. 

" I don't care to sit down just now," he said; and his companions, coming 
nearer, saw that the chairs were put over a great break in the pavement to 
warn people away. They turned to walk toward the boat-landing, and just 
then the electric fountains in the corners of the Basin nearest the Adminis- 
tration Building began to play. Two foamy domes mounted upward, and 
were magically tinted in fairy hues, changing and interchanging, rising and 
retiring, twisting, whirling, and falling in violet, sea-green, pink, purple — 
it was a tiny convention of tamed rainbows. And, meanwhile, from lofty 



ox THE LAKE 



25 



towers great electric sunbeams fell upon the dome of the Adminis- 
tration Building, and created a cameo against the sky : upon the Mac- 
Monnies Fountain, giving it a transfigured snowy loveliness : upon one 
beautiful group after another, bringing them to vivid life. The beams 
were at times full of smoke and spray, that gave a shimmering motion to 
their lisfht. 




THE STATUE OF "THE REPUBLIC. 



"I have been to a circus," said Harry, "where they had four rings going 
at once. TJiat was bad ; but this — this makes me wish I was a spider, 
with eyes all over me." 

" The extra legs would not come in badly, either," said Philip, reflectively. 

"Well said ! " agreed ]Mr. Dousflass. " Let us gfet into the little steamer ; 
we can rest there." 

They made their way to the landing, bought tickets, stepped aboard just 
as the boat moved off, and were soon gliding gently out upon the Basin. 



"T-^i^>55W^5fiSl^lj|i 




26 



THE FIREWORKS 



2-] 



After a short delay to let the passengers view the fountains a little longer, 
the steamer sped under a bridge, through the great arch of the Peristyle, 
and made out into the open lake. 

To their surprise, the boys found a heavy rolling " sea " on ; but as soon 
as the fireworks began, they forgot all else. Rockets, bombs, showers of 
hre, floating lights — they came so rapidly that there was a continuous gleam 
of colored light reflected from the waves. Their launch rounded the fire- 
works station, and then came to a standstill not far from the Naval exhibit, 
the model man-of-war " Illinois." 

Soon some of the women passengers began to object to the rolling. 
One Boston woman said : " This is rough ; I don't like this at all "; but her 
bespectacled daughter remarked, as a great bomb of rosy light scattered in a 
rain of fire, " Well, / think it's the smoothest thing I ever saw!" which bit 
of slang from the prim little Puritan was a great delight to the boys. And 
as the search-light suddenly sent its beams into a lady's face, she nodded 
cordially, and said, as if meeting a friend, " How do you do?" Then, turn- 
ing to her own party, added, " They 've just found me." 

There were many little incidents that amused 
Harry exceedingly. One small boy, while board- 
ing the boat, ingeniously contrived to knock his hat 
overboard; it was at once recovered, — a straw hat 
has no chance racing a steamboat, — but, like Mr. 
RIcGinty, was exceedingly moist. So the pilot 
went down a dark hatchway and fished out an offi- 
cial cap. The boy put it on. The effect was stun- 
ning, — there. was room for another boy inside, — 
and Harry made a sketch of it. 

But these trifles were only a relief from the 
grandeur of the display. Philip said it was the 
Grandest Grand Transformation Scene imaginable. 
After a "set piece" had been shown, there was a bombardment of "Fort 
McHenry," as they called it — a ship and fort outlined in living fire: 




THERE WAS ROOM FOR ANOTHER BOV 

INSIDE, — AND HARRV MADE A 

SKETCH OF IT." 



" The rockets' red glare, 
Bombs bursting in air," 



and all the rest of a mimic war. Then, as the fort blew up, the Stars 
and Stripes flamed forth — "Old Glory" — in lines of light ; and, far out 
upon the lake as they were, the rapturous cheering of the crowds came 
plainly to their ears. 



28 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



" Benedict Arnold would never have made that awful break of his if he 
could have been here to-night," said Harry, reflectively; then, as Philip 
began to speak, he said, " Yes, I know he could n't have been. Thanks." 




A VIEW FKOM THE LION FOUNTAIN. 

Looking toward the Grand Basin from a point between Machinery Hall and the Agricultural Building. 

Another thing that added wonderfully to the effect of the fireworks was 
a calliope whistle on some yacht or tug. While the people cheered, the 
musical director of that steam-tug whistle jDerformed on it with a master 
hand. It shrieked, it cheered, it yelled, it laughed — whatever song without 
words could be sung by a steam-whistle was performed with variations. 
And, queer enough, the effect was exceedingly pleasing. It somehow seemed 
in accord with the whole spirit of the fete. A bold, generous Western ex- 
travagance pervaded the whole affair. 

On their way back, they suddenly saw before them a long black hulk. 
It proved, as they passed it, to be a large yacht lying upon her side, with 
the masts and yards extending out far over the dark waves. 

"How did that happen?" Mr. Douglass asked the pilot, pointing to 
the wreck. 

" It was a collision, sir," replied the pilot; but he gave no particulars. 

As the man seemed busy in guiding the swift little steamer, the tutor 



DIVING IN THE GRAND BASIN 



29 



recalled the old adare about "not talking- to the man at the wheel," and 
asked no further questions. 

But the siehts of that marvelous American Thousand and One Nigrhts 
combined were not yet over. As they entered the Basin, their steamer 
halted to enable them to witness a divino- exhibition. On a floatino- tower 

o o 

stood a man in tights, so lighted up by an electric ray as to be clearly 
visible from every point around. Raising his hands above his head, he fell 
thirty-five feet or more into the water. Just as he reached the surface, his 




EVENING ON THE CANAL. 



hands came swiftly together, and he sank like a plummet. In an instant he 
was up again, kicking a mass of gleaming spray into the air. Several 
more " followed their leader." 

It was a thrilling sight, and, on that cold night, chilled the spectators to 
the marrow. 

x-\s they walked along the edge of the Basin after leaving their launch, 
the boys greatly admired the statues of animals and men set up near the 
balustrade. There was a bull, several great bears, a farmer and a draft- 
horse, a bison (who seemed timid and dwarfed by his surroundings), and 



30 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



Others, nearly all modeled with a massive effect that gave them wonderful 
dignity. 

And still the crowd surged to and fro, but now with a decided ten- 
dency toward the outlets; the lights flashed and gleamed; the bands played, 
while the great moon sailed overhead as if it was all a fete to Diana. 

Tired as they were when they reached the hotel, the boys could not re- 
frain from talking over some of the principal things they had seen. They 
did not say much about the buildings, for they knew they should see them 
again; but they talked of the people, the fireworks, and such queer com- 
ments as they had overheard. 

"I expected," said Philip, " that we should see a great many foreigners 
— Turks, Swedes, Germans, all sorts. But I did n't. I saw two or three 
fellows with fezzes on, but that was about all." 

"I noticed that, too," Harry responded. "And I did n't hear much but 
English spoken. It seems to me that Uncle Sam has done most of this thing 
himself, and that it 's mainly his own boys that are taking it in." 

" But it 's early days yet," said Philip, with a prodigious yawn, "to make 
— aw ! — comparisons." 

" That looks more like late hours than early days," Harry suggested. 
" Let 's turn in." 

In a few minutes their clothes were on two chairs, and their heads were 
sunk into adjacent pillows. 




VIEW FROM THE ISLAND AT NIGHT. 



CHAPTER III 

The Party Separates — Harry Goes to the Battle- Ship — The Government 
Buildiiig — The Convent and the Caravels — The Movable Sidewalk. 

Sunday proved a welcome relief after the long journey of Saturday, 
followed by the fete night at the Fair ; and they were glad to begin the 
busy week that was to follow with one restful day apart from bustle and 
confusion. 

At breakfast Monday morning, one of the dishes Mr. Douglass ordered 
was steak; and, as he sawed through it, he remarked: 

"This is tough!" 

" But I thought you did n't approve of slang ?" Harry inquired, with an air 
of grave interest. 

"I was n't thinking so much of how I said it as of the fact," Mr. Douglass 
replied. "But the proverb says that 'shoemakers' children are always the 
worst shod,' and so we ought to expect poor beef in Chicago, the great 
beef-market of the continent ; but I don't like to waste my strength on 
mere beef while there is so much before us. What are your plans?" 

" If you don't mind," said Harry, after a moment's pause, "I 'm going to 
ask you to let me 'paddle my own canoe.' It is hard for three to keep 
together in a crowd." 

"That 's true," Philip agreed; "and especially when one is near- 
sighted. I think I tried to follow seven different wrong men yesterday." 

" Yes," added Harry; " 'Follow my leader' is a difficult game to play when 
we are all leaders and followers at the same time." 

" All right," the tutor said. " To-day, then, we will separate. I may not 
go to the Fair at all, for I have several letters on my mind. Remember, we 
came away on very short notice. What will you do, Philip ? " 

" Oh, I think I shall spend a long while in the Art Galleries. It 's a 
good place to go to by one's self, for two people seldom agree about pictures 
— especially boys." 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



So, after breakfast, Harry, with a proud feeling of being his own master, 
set forth by himself He had a very clear idea of what he wished to do 
first. He meant to go to the model of a United States man-of-war — the 




BUILDING THE BATTLE-SHIl 



NOVEMBER, 1091. 



" Illinois." He had read much about the White Squadron, and felt that he 
would never have so good an opportunity to understand just how a man-of- 
war was worked. 

He had bought a guide-book to the Fair, and found that the route of the 
launches would bring him quite near enough to the vessel. But in spite of 
his singleness of purpose, his thoughts were distracted as soon as he came 
near the entrance. 

He noticed first the clicking of the turnstiles. They revolved so con- 
tinually, as people passed in, that Harry was reminded of the sound of a 
watchman's rattle. Next, he caught sight of a white-robed and turbaned 
Turk standing in line at the "Workmen's Gate," as placidly as if he were in 
his native Constantinople. Harry's turn to enter at the " Pay Gate" soon 
came, and he made his way toward the Court of Honor. As he passed the 
great Liberty Bell, which was chiming musically, he read upon it the words: 

A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another. 

He could not help remembering what followed the ringing of the original 
Liberty Bell, and he hoped that this, its namesake, would bring peace 
rather than war — a sober reflection that he recalled later in the day. 



HARRY GOES TO THE BATTLE-SHIP 33 

To the tune of "Hold the fort, for I am coming," played by a peal of 
musical bells, — very fittingly, he thought, — Harry began the quick journey 
that ended when the little launch came to a landing called "The Clambake." 
When the man called out those words, Harry did not budge; but when the 
man added, " Here 's where yer get off," he rose and abandoned the craft. 

On the way there, Harry learned that the ducks in the Lagoon were 
useful as well as pretty. The pilot said that two or three ducks would do 




THE BATTLE-SHIP AS IT LOOKED IN JANUARY, I 



more toward keeping a pond wholesome than six or eight hard-work- 
ing men. 

He was too early to get upon the "Illinois," and therefore turned back to 
see the Viking ship. It was not far away; and just in front of it were three 
armor-plates in which were the imprints left by the great conical shot used 
in testing them. 

Harry had read all about the old Northmen's vessel, and ordinarily 
could have spent hours in studying her mast, her one crossyard, her 
awning, the shields along her side — but this was a land of wonders. He 
looked at the boat only long enough to take a mental snap-shot that he 



34 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



could develop at leisure, and then walked on toward the United States 
Government Building, passing on his way a company of marines at drill. 
But again he was diverted. He turned into the Weather Bureau, and 
was glad he had done so, because of the wonderful series of photographs he 
found on the walls. Lightning flashes in streaks and sheets, clouds in 




:\IAY 30, 1893. 



Storm and wind, moonlight and snow effects, were there, but in impossible 
numbers. He sighed, wished that he had more leisure, and left. This time 
he succeeded in getting to the rifled cannon in front of the Government 
Building, but stopped only long enough to take a sight over one of them. 

He tried to go regularly around the exhibits, but surrendered almost at 
once. The Patent Office models discouraged him ; but the Geological De- 
partment! — the great transparent pictures in the windows convinced him that 



THE GOVERNMENT BUILDING 



35 



he could n't (as he once heard a man say) " poss the impossible and scrute 
the inscrutable." 

But he did notice some things. 

He sketched the skull of the Dinoceras mirabilc (and copied the name, 
too), because he was sure that it was the very ugliest thing in the world. 
He walked around a section of the big tree from California. He really 
studied a few life-like and life-size groups showing Indians at work, and 
wished sincerely that he were Methuselah, and that the Fair would last all 




THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT BUILDING. 



his days. It was a petrified Wild West show. He said they were splendid, 
to a gray-bearded Westerner, who replied emphatically : 

"They are so — and I have been used to the scoundrels all my life ! " 

Harry sketched a queer Indian "priest-clown's" head. At first he felt a 
little afraid to bring out his book and pencil; but he found out that every one 
had more to do than watch a boy drawing, and before the day was over he 
drew whatever he chose, entirely forgetting the crowd. 

Different things attracted different people. He heard one farmer-looking 
man say : " My stars. Ma! Look-a here!" and expected to see a marvel. He 
found only some stuffed chickens. Probably the farmer had never seen fowls 
stuffed un roasted. 

But when he came to the War Department collection he gave up skip- 
ping. He had to see that. Just at the entrance was a splendid bust of 
General Sheridan, the face wearing the expression the general must have 
had when he said at Winchester, "Turn around, boys! We 're going 



2,^ 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



back ! " Against the windows were more fine transparencies, and the whole 
floor-space was filled with everything having to do with war and soldiers. 
Small arms, fi-om a brass blunderbuss to the latest breech-loader — yes, and 
to the earliest, for there was one Chinese breech-loader of the 14th century. 




THE VIKING SHIP. 



" Instead of trying to get up new things," said Harry, half aloud, " we 
ought to go to China and study ancient history." 

Harry had a feeling of discouragement in spite of his interest. He had 
always entertained a vague idea that some day he might give his mind to it 
and make a big invention — a phonograph or a flying railway, or some little 
thing like that ; but now, when he saw how everything seemed to have been 
done, and done better than he could have dreamed of — well, he said to him- 
self "This Fair has spoiled one great inventor, for I would not dare to 
think there was anything new ! " 

But then he caught sight of a picture called the " March of Time," — 
representing a great procession of soldiers, of generals and veterans, — which 
restored his good spirits, for right in front, "leading the whole crowd," was 
a row of rollicking small boys. He was grateful to the artist. 

One stand of arms showed muskets — relics of the Civil War — injured by 
bullets. Into one of them a Confederate bullet had entered to stop a forth- 



THE BATTLE-SHIP "iyl 

coming shot, and, meeting, tliey had burst open tlie barrel. Another had 
been spHt into ribbons at the muzzle. There were also relics of the Custer 
massacre, and a gun recaptured from an Indian after he had tastefully orna- 
mented it with brass-headed nails. 

The less bloody side of battle was recalled by General Thomas's "office 
waeon," the side of which formed a desk when lowered, and revealed some 
very neat pigeonholes for papers, pens, and red tape. Uniforms and 
equipment, models of pontoons, artillery, a model of undermining, one by one 
each claimed the hasty glance that was all any A'isitor had to spare. A 
longer look was claimed by an oil painting showing Lieutenant Lockwood's 
observation of the "Farthest North." 

Then Harry returned to the Rotunda, and executed a rapid circular 
movement, hasty, but full of reverence, toward the cases of Revolutionary 
and Colonial relics — portraits on ivory, letters, flags, snuff-boxes — an end- 
less array of antiquities. Harry was glad to see one miniature, excellently 
painted, by Major Andre ; for up to that day he had not thought much of 
the unfortunate major's drawing, having seen only the well-known "sketch 
of himself" in pen and ink. Washington's diary was another thing the boy 
found very interesting: as he said, it 'was "neat as wax and right as a 
trivet." Harry wondered whether it would n't be fun to keep a diary. This 
reminded him of the flight of time, and, looking at his watch, he set his face 
once more toward the " Illinois," for it was after half-past ten. 

Many were going that way — and, indeed, in e\-ery other. Two small 
boys who, in sailor suits, strode along the pier like two pygmy admirals, 
gave him another subject for his sketch-book; but 
they were but atoms in a long procession, for there 
w^as no cessation in the coming and going of visitors 
all the time he was on the vessel. 

He went at once below decks, and came plump " 
up against an ice-machine — "to keep the men cool 
while in action," he heard a young fellow say. 
Around the bulkheads were draped flags of all 
nations, and here and there were hung mess-lock- 
ers, — shelves behind wire gratings, — hammocks, two little tars going to see the 

^ ^ ^ MODEL OF A MAN-OF-WAR. 

neatly varnished kegs for stores, and everything 

Jack afloat could desire. Upon the lower deck also were glass cases 

protecting exquisite models of the new cruisers and battle-ships. 

" Now, if they '11 give me just one of those as my share," said Harry, 
"I '11 go home contented. Anyway, I think I will go to Annapolis and 
become an officer in the navy." 




38 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



As if to answer this thought, he came next to the room where the work 
of the cadets was shown. The splicing, the foot-ball statistics, the fencing 
foils and masks, were welcomed ; but the tables full of text-books and the 
neat drawings on the walls spoke so plainly of hard study and long hours 




THE CARAVEL ' SANTA MARIA. 

The Model of the Flagship of Columbus. 



of work that Harry's determination was somewhat shaken. And, indeed, 
before he had left the Government Building, a soldier of the regular 
army, guarding some exhibits, had said to him, "The time for war is 
over." The man seemed to speak seriously, and then it was that Harry 
recalled the new Liberty Bell and its inscription. War was not all 
uniforms and parading. 

The captain's room and office were most attractive, except that a set of 
the "Encyclopsedia Britannica" seemed out of its element — a British book 
with a Latin name hardly rhymed with a United States man-of-war. 

A courteous officer on the " Illinois" told Harry that people's questions 
were at times hard to answer. "One man," he said, "looked long at the 
Howell torpedo, read the labels, and with keen interest wanted to know 
whether it was n't a flying machine ! " 

Harry thought that he might have been told that it was a machine to 



THE CARAVELS 



make other machines fly ; but he did n't interrupt the ofticer, who gave liim 
a clear explanation of a life-buoy hanging in the cabin. 

While ascending to the upper deck, he heard a woman say, " Oh, is 
there another story ? " and wished Rudyard Kipling had been there to 
tell her that it was quite another story. But he made his way to the con- 
ning-tower, paying heed to the admonition of a mischievous boy who said, 
"Push, but don't shove." 

The conning-tower was hardly big enough to lose one's temper in, but 
gave the commanding officer full view of his surroundings through tiny slits 
cut through the solid steel. Electric buttons were convenient to push when 
he wished the guns, rifles, torpedoes, and other assistants to do the rest. 

Leaving the vessel, Harry was again launched back to the other end of 
the grounds, landing at the Agricultural Building. He passed through this 
great show-house with his eyes well restrained, but did notice some birds 
flying about under the lofty roof He wondered if they had come to study 
the best methods of securing a living at the farmers' expense, and hoped 
rather that they wished to know what harmful insects it was best for them 
to destroy. 

After eating lunch at a table in the open air near by, Harry boarded 
Columbus's " Santa Maria." Coming directly from a modern cruiser, the 
quaint little cockle-shell was a pathetic witness to the great discoverer's 
hardships. Harry went into the forecastle, looked at the queer old galley, 
the swivel-orun, the anchors, and wished that he had been aboard the orieinal 
on that first westward trip. The modern vessels were scientific, correct, and 
fine, of course; but somehow Harry would 
rather have sailed the ocean blue in the days 
when the galley-fires flared fitfully on these 
pictured sails. 

He skipped the " Pinta " and "Nina," 
sketching from the shore a sailor on the lat- 
ter who was "guarding" the little vessel, only 
reflectino- that those on the biafo-est vessel 
were better off than their fellows in these two, 
and went over to the Convent de la Rabida. 
Harry thought everybody knew about that 
building ; but he met a group of three men, 
one of whom asked in all earnestness, "That 
hain't the Fisheries Buildin', is it ? " Then the boy remembered how 
amused the great Napoleon was when they brought to his court a man 
who had never heard of him, of the Empire, or of the Revolution ! Harry 




'GUARDING 



40 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



wondered whether there might not be in the Fair Grounds a few who hardly- 
recalled havingf heard of a man named Columbus. 

Inside the convent were old charts, pictures, and manuscripts, to which 
Harry gave but a passing glance. But the open court inside at once gave 




THE NEW "SANTA MARIA ' CROSSING THE OCEAN. 



him a sense of antiquity, and the tropical plants recalled thoughts of distant 
lands, until he caught sight of a tired man worrying a piece of mince-pie for 
lunch. He started to go out, and only paused before an old globe whereon 
the lands were full of odd pictures. 

" Geography must have been like a book of fairy-stories then," he thought 
as he left the convent door and came face to face with to-day. 

Oh, but he was tired ! His legs ached, his back was lame, and he felt 
like the deacon's "one-hoss shay" — as if he might give out "all at once and 
nothing first." Seeing in the distance the movable sidewalk, it occurred to 
him that it was a good place for resting. 



THE MOVABLE SIDEWALK 



41 



The convent had been a Httle depressing. Others felt the same effect, 
for he heard one woman say, "I "m glad I "m not a monk" — and then, after a 
reflective pause — "nor a nun." 

As he approached the traveling platform that ran on wheels far out 
along a pier, this cry met him: 

"This way for the movable sidewalk! An all-day ride for five cents — 
the cheapest thing on the grounds !" 

It was irresistible. Harry stepped on the slower platform, then to the 
quicker one, and dropped into a seat. It proved an excellent change. Out 
he glided upon the long pier, rested and cooled by the breeze and by the 
sight of the placid waters, now an opaline green in the afternoon light. 
Harry thought less of the scene than of his muscles. 

"If I wanted to make money at this Fair," he said, "I would put on sale 
a patent back-rest and double-back-action support ; and after the Fair it 
could be sold to farmers for weeding." 

Harry made the round trip, and got off nearly where he started. He 
did not wish to go back to the hotel, but he could not really enjoy anything 
more, though so long as he could walk he wanted to see, see, see. Nor was 
it all seeing; a blind man would have enjoyed that day, so many funny 
remarks were made, so much music was in the air. Bands played, wheels 
whirled, people chatted, laughed, and exclaimed. 

Everybody seemed happy, perhaps because with all the sight-seeing 
there went plenty of enjoyable exercise in the clear, bracing September air. 

As for Harry, he returned to the hotel healthily weary, but not exhausted. 




THE CARAVEL "NINA. 





'CHOLLY " SPEECHLESS. 
42 



CHAPTER IV 




A SPLENDID MEAT 
SUPPER FOR 25 cents! 



Harry Returns to the Hotel — Philip Tells of his Blunder — The Anthro- 
pological Btiilding — The Log Cabin — The Alaskan Village — The old 
Whaling- Ship ''Progress'' — A Sleepy Audience — Plans. 

Harry's route to his hotel lay through the usual throng 

-iy^t9>-^ of men whose one object in life was to make people buy "a 

' "'^ V-^r^2^ splendid meat supper for twenty-five cents ! " His legs felt 

like stilts, and he walked only because he had become so used 

to it that he could not stop. 

As it was still an hour or two before their usual dinner- 
time, Harry went up to his room, intending to lie down for 
a while. When he asked at the counter for the key, the 
clerk told him that his friend "with the eye-glasses" was 
already in their room. 
Harry found Philip lying on the bed, tired but looking contented. 
"Why, you 're home earl)^" said Harry, in surprise. " I thought you 
were going to spend the whole day in the Art Gallery." 

" So I was," said Philip, rising to make room for the later arrival. " I 
started for there. Where have you been ? " 

" Oh, to the Government Building, the man-of-war, the convent, the 
caravels — and a lot more," said Harry, as he flung himself upon the bed, 
first having made himself comfortable by removing his jacket and shoes. 
"Did you like it?" 

"Like it? Of course I liked it, old slowcoach! But it 's too much like 
being invited to two Thanksgiving dinners — enough is better than two 
feasts." 

" What did you see ? " asked Philip. 

"See here, Phil," said Harry, smiling mischievously; "do you think I 
am unable to take a view through a millstone with a hole in it? You 
need n't think you can put me off by asking questions. What I want to 



44 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



know is why you did n't get to the Art Building. It 's not small, you 
know; you could hardly have passed it without noticing it. Come, out 
with it, young fellow." 

"To tell the truth," said Phil reluctantly, but laughing good-naturedly, 
" I started out all right, for I looked up the way in the guide-book. I 




■'LOOP OF THE INTRAMURAL RAILWAY. 



found that the cheapest and quickest plan was to take the railway on the 
grounds — the Intra — something; yes, the Intramural, which means 'within 
the wall.'" 

" So it does," answered Harry. " Great thing to know Latin. But fire 
away. I can see there is more in this Fair than a whole brigade of boys can 
see. Let 's hear what you did." 

" I took the railway, climbing a lot of steps, and we started. They had 
signs to tell one where to go, but I could n't read them very well, and so I 
went whizzing along without altogether understanding where I was. The 
stations they called out meant nothing to me, and I had an idea it took a 
Sfood while to oret across the grrounds; and — to make it short — I was look- 
ing at the view, first one side, toward the hotels, and then the other, 
toward the Fair Buildings, and I did n't wake up to my position till the 
conductor said, 'Going round again, young man?' So I got off, for there I 



PHILIP S DAY 



45 




^j^^ 



; *%^ ' j^^ -, 










^••••/Sa^ 



=1— if 



was at the same station I got on at. 
You see, the conductor had noticed me 
because I sat near where he stood." 

" That 's a good one on you ! " 

" I know it. But I did n't like to 
start over again, so I came down the 
steps and walked over across the Court 
of Honor, along by the Agricultural 
BuildinCT, till I came to the caravels and 
the convent. I saw those, but so did 
you. I went next to the Krupp gun 
exhibit by the lake. That gun was 
enormous ! I believe all the gunners 
could get inside when it rained. They 
had a printed label on it, and at first 
I read it: 'Please set off the gun'; 
but I knew that was n't likely, so I went 
nearer, and found it said ' keep ' instead 
of ' set' Oh, by the way, just before I 
went in there, I stopped in the doorway 
and saw some men diving from a tre- 
mendous height, out in the lake, — a 
much higher tower than the one they 
dived from on the f^te night. I also 
saw in the Krupp building a pretty little 
model of the house the great gunmaker 
lived in when he began." 

" What was it like ? " asked Harry. 

" Oh, just a little square thatched 
house ; but you could see the tiny furni- 
ture through the windows. I did n't 
stay long there, for they were sprinkling 
the floor, and it was sloppy. 

" Next I went into the Leather Ex- 
hibit Building ; but there were mostly 
shoes and thinofs there, and I did n't 
see very much I cared about, except 
some buckskin suits labeled ' indestructi- 
ble.' I would have liked one of those, ex- 
cept that it was trimmed with silver lace." 



46 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 




~^^ 



DON T FAIL TO SEE THIS EXHIBIT. 



"A little gaudy for you," said Harry. 

" Yes, but they were fine. So, seeing signs telling people to go up into the 

gallery where shoes were being made, I went up. I heard machines making 

a racket, but all I saw was the backs of the other people who got there first." 

" I know," said Hai'ry ; "I made a sketch of one of those very exhibits."' 

" Now, where did I go next? Let me see the map — it 's there by you." 

Harry passed over the little plan of the 
grounds, and Philip examined it a moment. 
Then he went on : 

" I see now. I meant to ofo into the 
Forestry Building, but on the way I caught 
sight of some things in the Anthro — " 

" — Thropo-pop-o-ological," interrupted 
Harry. " It 's a nice word to say when you 're 
in a hurry." 

"Yes," Philip replied, "that was it; so I 
went in there. And I tell you, you must n't 
miss that. It 's fine. It has everything in it." 
" So they all have," said Harry, hopelessly. 
" But there are gymnasium things, and African weapons, all sorts of 
savage huts and costumes, Greek statues, and views, and bits of work from 
the prisons and reformatories, showing how boys are drilled and trained to- 
work at trades. But, as usual, I did n't think I could see everything, and so 
I looked at only a few special cases. One that I remember well showed all 
sorts of games and puzzles — chess, cards, checkers, halma, pachisi, Indian 
sticks for throwing like dice, the fifteen puzzle, ring puzzles, wire puzzles, 
all sorts. The chessmen were splendid. There was one Chinese set there, 
where the pieces stood on pedestals showing three balls carved one inside 
the other; and the pieces themselves were little mandarins and things, with 
faces, and beards, and all. There were enough games in the cases for a 
boy to learn a new one every day as long as he lived." 
"Well?" asked Harry, as Philip paused. 
" You don't want me to tell it all, do you ? " Philip asked. 
" If you will," said Harry. " My ears are the only things about me 
that are not tired; and I am resting the rest of me." 

"All right," said Philip; " I 'm willing. I am so full of it, I could talk a 
week. But I remember now there was one place I went before the An- 
thropo Building, and that was to a real log cabin, with all the regular old- 
fashioned things in it; but never mind, I won't go back to that, for I 've a 
lot more to tell, and one thing I know you '11 like to hear about specially. 



THE LOG CABIN. THE ALASKAN HOUSES 



47 



"The next queer thing was the Clift'-dwellers' mound, a big structure, made 
to look like red rock, — sandstone, maybe, — in which these old Indians in 
the Southwest used to live. I did n't o-Q into it, althouijh a lot of sig-ns said 
I ouo-ht to ; but I saw how the little caves were hollowed out and made into 
huts, with doors and windows. \Miile I was looking up at it — and it is a 
high cliff, I tell you! — I saw some nuns all in black climbing over it, and 
that was a strang-e sig'ht enough. Out in front were some Q-ray little 



■donkej's, — 'burros,' used by the exploring party that found the caves. 
Then I went on to an old-time distillery, outside of which was a real 'moon- 
shiner's ' still that had been captured bj- the revenue officers. 

"Then I came to some Alaskan houses. They were made of great 
rough slabs, with circular doors cut through the trunks of trees in front. 
There were little models of them in the Anthropo place, 
too. In front of them stood those carved totem-poles 
that we used to see in the physical geography book. I 
saw by the labels on the models that those poles were 
meant to tell the history of the man in the house 
"behind each one, and that the more rings there were 
on the carved man's high hat, the more of a fellow 
the owner was. There seemed to be lots about whales 
on them. I suppose capturing a whale was to them 
like being elected to Congress — maybe harder. 

" But, speaking of whales, the next thing I saw 
was the one I want to tell you specially about. Near 
the shore there, in what they call the South Pond, was 
an old-fashioned vessel. I walked over toward it, and read the signs. 
They said it was a whaling-vessel, a regular old New Bedford whaler. 
You know about those ? " 

" I guess I do," said Harry. " I remember reading ' Peter, the Whaler,' 
and a lot more books like it." 

"Well, at first I was n't going in, for they charged a quarter, and there 
did n't seem to be many going on board. I was afraid it was not good for 
anything, but at last I made up m)"- mind to risk twenty-five cents on it. I 
bought my ticket and climbed the gang-plank. There were just two other 
men on board besides the sailor in charge." 

" 'Two other men' is good," remarked Harrj-. 

" You know what I mean. \Mien we got up on deck, the sailor came 
forward to speak his little piece. He said if we wanted to know how they 
cauofht whales he 'd tell us. Then he went on with the whole thing, from 
'Thar she blows ! ' down to the cutting up and trying-out of blubber. 




AN ALASKAN l-MAGE. 



48 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



" I had often read about it, but I tell you, Harry, it was different to see 
him hold up the harpoon and the lance, the gun for firing a big harpoon 
and all. And then we saw the vats for boiling the oil. And he said that 
out of the whale's head they could dip up whole barrels of clear oil; but the 
whalebone was the thing they were after nowadays. He said they some- 
times got thousands of dollars' worth out of the mouth of one whale. 

"After he finished telling about whaling, he invited us below, to see a 
collection of marine curiosities they had on board. It was a regular old- 
style ship, with the beams coming close down to your head. All around 




THE WHALING-SHIP. 



were cases of curious things — real sailors' oddities: carved teeth and 
shells, swords from sword-fish, idols, weapons, tools — whatever a sailor 
could collect. One thing I remember was a harpoon-head that had been 
bent and twisted around itself by a whale till it looked like a scrawl in a 
copy-book. Then we went forward to the forecastle, to see the queer 
little bunks where the men sleep. 

" As I was coming away I bought a little book telling all about the old 
ship; and it is interesting, I tell you. I have n't read it all yet, but one- 
adventure of that ship the sailor told us about. 



THE OLD WHALING-SHIP 



49 



" She was out with a big fleet, more than thirty, and she was one of the six 
that got out from an ice-pack. Then a boat came along after, and reported 
the rest of the ships as wrecked. The 'Progress' — that 's the one I 'm 
telline about — and the other saved vessels threw all their valuable careo 




THE WINDMILLS. 



over and took in the poor fellows from the ice. That was what I call 
square. You can read all about it later. Would n't you like to?" 

There was no answer. Philip turned to look at Harry more closely, 
and found that the tired boy had fallen fast asleep. 

"It 's all right for him to go to sleep," said Philip to himself "but I 
wish he 'd say so when he does it; then I 'd know when to stop." 

Harry awoke in time for dinner. Mr. Douglass had mailed a number 
of letters, and he and the bo)s went to the table together. They found 
that their walks had given them the best of appetites, and they enjoyed 
seeing the people at the various tables around them. Mr. Douglass spoke 
of the excellent appearance made by the crowds, and of their good-humor. 

" I was in the Fair Grounds for a short time this afternoon," he said, 
" and I found myself noticing the people quite as much as the curious 
things around me. If one ran against another, there was never any ill- 




L. 




PLANS 5 1 

humor or crossness. Usually both apologized politely. And yet in many 
places the crowds were enormous. Again and again I would look ahead of 
me, and think that I could n't get through the throng." 

" I noticed that, too," said Philip; "but the spaces are big and the peo- 
ple keep moving, so somehow one always finds a place to pass." 

" I tell you what I liked," said Harry ; " and that was the little drinking- 
fountains, where you drop a penny and get a glass of spring water. I 
found them very welcome." 

"And the popcorn!" said Philip. "I don't like it much, but I saw it 
everywhere. Why, you could smell it in the air sometimes ; and every now 
and then you would hear a crackle-crackle, snap-snap, and there would be a 
popper full of dancing corn over hot coals." 

" Yes, I saw them," said Mr. Douglass. " I found it very interesting to 
talk to the people. Now and then, when I wished to rest awhile, I would 
sit down on a bench ; and pretty soon a man would come up and drop into 
a seat beside me. Then, in a minute, one of us would say : ' It 's a fine day,' 
or something of the kind, and, without difficulty, a little talk would begin. 
One man I met told me he was from Massachusetts, and cultivated tobacco. 
AVe had a very pleasant conversation, and gave each other advice about 
what to see. I think this Fair will do a great deal to bring people together." 

" It has already," said Harry, solemnly. " I have seen a number come 
together even to-day. Where did you go this afternoon, Mr. Douglass ? " 

" I went to the Art Gallery part of the time," the tutor replied. " But 
I found it, like the other buildings, too overwhelming — whole rooms full of 
masterpieces of painting and sculpture; something demanding at least a 
glance wherever one looked. I found I could not stay long. Walking about 
and looking upward and downward, and from side to side, is more than any 
one can endure very long. Besides, the pictures are so good that they 
make one both think and feel keenly, and that is tiring, too. So after about 
two hours I surrendered, and came out. I walked along the lake shore 
during part of my way back, purposely avoiding any sights of especial 
interest." 

" What shall we do to-morrow ? " asked Philip. 

"Whatever you please," answered the tutor. "Perhaps you might do 
some photographing, Philip." 

" I 'd like to, but I hardly know where to begin." 

"Suppose," said Harry, " that we ah three go to the Midway Plaisance? 
It 's a splendid place to get pictures." 

" But 1 hear," said Philip, " that you can't do very much photographing 
there. You can get a permit for the Fair Grounds, but the Plaisance 



52 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



exhibits are outside of the Fair's control, and you have to secure special 
permissions there." 

"We might try it," said Mr. Douglass. "You have brought your big 
kodak, have n't you ? " 

" Yes, v\rith a new roll of forty-eight films in it," said Philip. " But I 
shall have to take outdoor scenes, for there 's little chance to give time- 
exposures." 

"Well, suppose that we hire chairs to-morrow — the rolling-chairs, you 
know. One can hire either double chairs or single ones ; and then we three 




A LAUNCH-LANDJNG. 



will be wheeled out to the Midway Plaisance. There we will let the chairs 
go, and see what we can do. How do you like it, Harry ? " 

"Oh, it suits me," said Harry. "To tell the truth, I should like to go 
there soon, for there are so many really foreign scenes in the streets 
and villages that it may be I can get some good little sketches. At all 
events, I 'd like to go to the Wild Animal show, and see it all. I met 
a boy to-day, while I was at lunch, who said that it beat any circus he 
ever saw." 

"There are a number of absurd cheap shows on the Midway," said Mr. 
Douglass, "at least, so the guide-books say; but we can go to the best of 



PLANS 



53 



them, and let the others alone. I find that the people (as I have told you) 
are more interesting to me than are most of the exhibits, and the Plaisance 
is always crowded." 

The party had finished dinner, and they went up to their rooms. Philip 
eot out his camera, and looked it over, to be sure all was in workine order. 
Harry laid out his sketch-book and an extra pencil. Mr. Douglass, as he 
usually did, read over his guide-books, and made up his accounts. But all 
three went early to bed. 




IN FRONT OF THE TRANSPORTATION BUILDING. 




IN CAIRO STREET. 










m 



■'T 



CHAPTER V 

A Place where Visitors were Scarce — The Rolling-chairs and Guides — 
Mistaken Kindness — Entering the Plaisance — The Javanese Village 
— Snap-shots — Cairo Street — The Card-writer — The Soudanese Baby. 




.-^ 



The dauntless three reached the ofates next morninor at about 
nine o'clock, and found an even larger crowd than usual. They 
had to form in line at some distance from the ticket- office, 
and advanced toward it as slowly as people come out of 
church. But, as before, good humor was the rule, and, ex- 
cepting for a few of the weak-minded men who always fight 
their way through a crowd, there was every effort made 
to accommodate one another. 
Philip heard a woman say, " \\ hy, we are all here to have a good time, 
and to let other people have the same." It was worst just in passing the 
wickets, but once through, the trouble was at an end. 

"How shall we o-o toward the Plaisance?" Mr. Douglass asked. He 
felt that the expedition was undertaken for the boys' pleasure, and wished 
them to have their own way about it. 

"Why don't you take the Intramural, as I did yesterday?" Philip asked. 
" It will give you and Harry a new view of the grounds, and it 's a very 
short ride to the other end." 



56 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 




MORNING, OUTSIDE MAIN ENTRANCE. 



"All right," said Harry; "but we must keep our wits about us. I knew 
a boy once who was carried back to where he started from." 

For this little dig, Philip gently 
knocked Harry's hat over his eyes. 
Harry left the hat untouched until 
Philip put it back in place. " I don't 
care how I wear my hat," said Harry, 
"so long as it is in the very latest 
style." 

As they got on the cars, Mr. 
Douglass noticed that the gates 
along the sides were all opened and 
shut at once by the conductor, and 
at some stations there were large 
signs saying, " Don't climb over the 
gates. They will be opened." 

When they were just westward 
of the Horticultural Building, Harry 
remarked, "There is no need of sfet- 
ting into the large crowds, — there is plenty of room over there, and only 
one man has found it worth while to occupy the space." 

Philip looked where Harry 
pointed, and saw a workman climb- 
ing up a dizzy little stairway half- 
way to the top of the great glass 
dome. 

" If he should fall through, he 'd 
break a lot of glass," said Philip, 
reflectively. 

They left the railway near the 
mammoth Building of Manufac- 
tures, and walked to its northern 
entrance. Here Mr. Douglass se- 
cured their chairs, the young men 
who pushed them having the time 
of starting noted upon cards that 
they kept neatly inside their caps. 
Wheeling into line, they rode com- 
fortably along through the parting crowd, Philip carrying his kodak upon 
his knees, ready for business. He had secured a little card, tied to a 




CHAIR-BOYS AT WORK ! 



THE ROLLING-CHAIRS AND GUIDES 



57 



String, that permitted him to take pictures "with a four-by-five camera 
only " for that one day. He had paid two dollars for this privilege, and felt 
bound to use up his roll of forty-eight exposures. 

At first the boys found their chairs a little uncomfortable ; but the guides 
raised the foot-rests until their short lees could reach them, and after that 
they found the vehicles as comfortable as an arm-chair in a library. It was 
a bright, clear day — "Just the day for taking snap-shots," Philip said en- 
thusiastically ; and everything was plainly outlined by sharp contrasts of 
light and shade. 

As usual, Mr. Douglass began to talk to his guide, and learned that the 
young man was a college student who was rolling a chair at the Exposition 
partly for the money he made and partly for the sake of seeing the Fair 




' PUCK BUILDING, 



and the people from all parts of the world. As Mr. Douglass had worked 
his own way through college, he was able to give his guide some practical 
advice, which was gratefully received. 

Passing along in front of the Illinois State Building — always con- 
spicuous for its dome — they passed around the Women's Building, and 
came to the entrance of the mile of curious structures that made up the 



58 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



Midway Plaisance. But before they had come so far, the boys, too, were 
talking to their guides, who proved to be other college men. 

A thing one of them told the boys amused them. The guide said that 
people, intending to be considerate, would lean far forward when the chair 
was pushed up a slope. "And that," he said, "brings all their weight on 




THE WATER-WHEEL IN THI- 



the little guiding-wheels in front, where there are no springs. Then the 
wheels turn hard, and we have to ask them to sit back. So, you see, the 
kindest people sometimes give the most trouble." 

In spite of this warning, when they were ascending the first bridge — one 
that led across an opening from the Lagoon — both boys leaned forward, as 
one does in " helping " a horse up hill. But when the guides laughed, the 
two boys quickly sank back again. 

Passing under the elevated railway, they joined the ranks of visitors to 
the Midway. As they intended to come back another time, they glanced 
only at the exteriors of most of the buildings, pausing first when they 
came to the Javanese village. While they rode through the crowd the boys 
were amused to see the odd glances of those who met them. The luxury 
of being pushed in a chair was, by many of the newer visitors, considered 



THE TAVANESE VILLAGE 



59 



fitting only for sick people, and their eyes plainly said that two strong, 
healthy boys should walk. The boys knew this, for they had had the same 
feeling toward riders during their own first day ; the second day's walking, 
however, entirely changed their views, and they understood that it was a 
Avise economy to save bodily tire when eyes and brain were so busy. 




THE JAVANESE MUSICIANS. 



" You can ride right into the Javanese village," one of the guides told 
them ; so they bought their tickets and were pushed into the grounds. 

Surrounded by a bamboo fence with a lofty gateway was a collection of 
steep-roofed, grass-thatched, one-story huts. Each had a little veranda in 
front, and as it was sunny, many of the short, dark-skinned little people sat 
outdoors at work. 

Here Philip expected to get a few more pictures. He had already 
taken one outside. Leaving the chair in the main roadway, he had gone to 
the side, where the ground was higher, and had secured a negative (or 
hoped he had !) showing the crowd thronging the long street between the 
houses. 

But on entering the Javanese village he was told that he could not take 
pictures without another permit. After a little search and inquiry he found 



6o 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



a hut within an inclosure marked "private" and "office." Here he met the 
superintendent, and was given permission to take views inside the village. 

All the time they were among the Javanese, they had heard a queer 
musical, liquid pounding. Near the center of the grounds they found the 
cause. An odd water-wheel of bamboo revolved beneath a stream that 
flowed from an upright iron pi^De, and as this wheel went around it struck 
short hanging bits of wood that gave forth the musical notes. The wheeL 
had apparently no other purpose than to make a noise — it was a primitive 
music-box. This was Philip's first camera subject. 

His second was also musical. 
There was a band of musicians play- 
ing upon some sweet-sounding metal 
gongs, and another species of Java- 
nese tom-toms. The musicians smiled 
encouragingly as Philip waved his 
camera and gazed through his glasses 
with eager inquiry, and as soon as 
they were hard at their music Philip 
took them. 

Another picture he lost. While 
he was just on the point of pushing 
the button, a guard clapped one hand 
over the lens. It was too late to 
stop, and Philip lost his temper as 
well as his exposure. 

"You can't take pictures here,"' 
said the guard. 

" The superintendent said I could, "^ 
said Philip, sharply. 

" I beg your pardon," the guard 
answered politely. 
"That 's all right," Philip said in a pleasanter tone; "but it does n't 
give me back the negative. Next time, please find out before you in- 
terfere." 

In all the foreign exhibits there were seen many objects with which the 
boys were only too familiar. For instance, looking through the door of a Ja- 
vanese hut, Harry saw three cheap American clocks, all in a row ; and on the 
veranda of the same house a man was presiding over a sewing-machine 
plainly inscribed with a well-known American trade-mark. Nevertheless, 
the little Javanese themselves were unusual enough : the men wore turbans 




THE JAVANESE BABY. 



THE JAVANESE VILLAGE SNAP-SHOTS 



6i 




of fiorured cotton, a ti^ht-fit- 
ting jacket, and then, above 
their trousers, a short slcirt or 
apron that liung about half- 
way down the thigh. Some 
also wore above their turbans 
wide straw hats. 

One of the women had a 
cute little baby in her arms. 
Philip put a silver coin into 
the baby's hand, and was al- 
lowed to take its jaicture. But 
the father held the child. Philip 
said to Harry, as they walked 
away, "There 's a pretty 
baby " ; then, hearing a gentle 
chuckle from a motherly-look- 
ing woman near him, hastened 
to add: "For that kind of a 
baby." 

The party had left their 
chairs in a corner of the vil- 
lage, and were now on foot. As they walked around the inclosure they 

saw a woman and girl embroidering upon a ve- 
randa. The girl was about twelve or thirteen 
years old, had a tinge of pink in her cheeks, 
snappy black eyes, and shiny coarse hair. 

Philip wanted a picture of her, and, after a 
talk with the man of the house, at last gained 
his consent. Philip had a little trouble in 
making the man comprehend that the girl 
must come out into the sunshine ; but by point- 
ing to the sun and to a side of the hut that 
was in its full glare, he finally had the little 
model, blushing prettily, posed in a good situa- 
tion. The man stood up beside her, and they 
were photographed together. 

No sooner had Philip raised his camera 
than the siafht-seers Qrathered eag-erlv about him, 
until he could hardly find space to reach the 



' THE MAN STOOD UP BESIDE HER, AND THEY WERE PHOTOGRAPHED 
TOGETHER." 




*HE WAS LAZILY SUNNING HIMSELF. 



62 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



button. He pushed it in a hurry, and made his way out. Just a moment 
after, he secured an even better subject, entirely by accident. Upon another 
veranda sat a mature Javanese gentleman crouched down upon his heels. 



i 






s~ — ^ 


m. 






m^ *■■ 


m JULii 


""^^■H^ 




c^^yml 




H^^xi^i^H 




IPt0i 


t^ 






Ml 






»tK.>»!!SimfyaigjSjij^^g^^j^fM 








i 





A YOUNG LADY FROM JAVA. 



He was lazily sunning himself, and Philip leveled the camera and took him 
before he could say the Javanese for ''Jack Robinson." The man opened 
his blinking eyes at the click of the shutter, but only smiled indulgently, 
and resumed his basking, like a frog on a log. 

Leaving the Javanese village, 
and ignoring upon their way the 
appeals of a vender of Java cigar- 
ettes — " Ver' sheap ! two for five!" 
— they settled back in their chairs 
and plunged again into the outside 
thoroughfare. 

Mr. Douglass, looking up a little 
absent-mindedly, saw a sign which 
he read thus, " Dancing-girl of Da- 
mascus now dancing — 600 years 
old." Startled by this marvel, even in that land of enchantment, he 
turned his head and found that the 600 years referred to the city rather 
than to the dancer. 



..'%^. ?^ 1B93 

TO MAKE KODACK PHOTOGRAPHS 

GOOD FOR ONE TRIP AND THIS DAY ONLY 

ev SOLt PHOTOGRAPHERS CftlRO STREET. 



CAIRO STREET 



63 



"Where would you like to stop now, sir?" asked the guide. 

"Suppose we go to Cairo Street, Philip ?" said Mr. Douglass. "We 
can see camels and donkeys and queer buildings without number ; and it 
is said to be a very interesting, genuine exhibit." 

They entered the long narrow passage, leaving their chairs outside. 
Philip's camera was again declared contraband of war, and held in bondage 
while he "interviewed" the official photographer of the street. He soon 




THE "donkey-boys." 



returned with the "open sesame" (price $1.00) — another ticket to tie to 
the camera handle; and they all went forward to view the glories of Cairo. 

It was the liveliest, jolliest place they had yet entered. Donkeys ridden 
by little boys or little girls came bumping along amid the laughter of the 
scattering crowd ; sneering camels lurched in zigzag courses, carrying gig- 
gling girls or grinning men. The camel-riders had the effect of bowing 
graciously to the crowd, and hung on desperately to the loops of the 
saddles, as if they were upon bucking broncos. But the most amusing part 
of camel-ridinsf was the clismountingr. The camels went down bows-on at 
first, and then lowered the hind legs. This process was always sure to 
bring out little shrieks of dismay from the women, and a burst of laughter 
from the onlookers. 



64 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 




Philip's camera was agog with , eagerness. He captured a view or two 
of the picturesque "donkey-boys" — who were stalwart grown men; but 
when he saw the great nodding camels docilely following their tiny boy- 
leaders, he made up his mind that the camel was his 
favorite subject. 

He particularly desired to secure a view of the dis- 
mounting. Seeing a flight of steps that would enable 
him to overlook this scene, he put his camera under 
his arm and wormed his way through the crowd until 
he had secured an excellent place on an upper step. 
From here, by raising the camera high in air, he 
took a picture over the heads of the spectators, and 
then rejoined Mr. Douglass and Harry, who were 
waiting for him across the street near some of the 
bazaars for the sale of curiosities. 
Harry, while waiting, had produced his sketch-book, and made a hasty 
outline of a street-sweeper who, in turban and baggy trousers, was plying 
a most prosaic broom and dust-pan. 

Just above their heads they read a sign advertising an Arab card-writer, 
and when Philip returned they began a search for this gentleman, who 
promised a card in English and Arabic for five cents. It proved to be a 
difficult matter to find him. Inquiring upon one side of the street, they 
were directed to the other ; and, repeating the question there, were politely 
sent back again ; but soon they 
caught sight of a ring of people 
near the middle of the street, gaz- 
ing down toward the pavement, 
and there, within, sat the writer. 
Philip pressed forward with a 
slip torn from his note-book, on 
which he had written plainly, 
" Philip Rodman," putting below, 
" Please write this name in Eng- 
lish and Arabic." 

When his turn came, the sharp-featured little writer raised his fezzed 
head from gazing down upon the inlaid box which served him as a desk, 
and said : 

" You want-a me to write for you — yes ? " 

" Yes, please," Philip answered. 

So the scribe began, like a school-boy reciting his lesson : 



|7fcitlliv|r' |lilii7dDp.ai!jiAia 










z^<s^^^?-Z, 



/ e/ fj 



THE CARD-WRITER 



65 



" Pheelipe. P, h, i, 1, i, and p. Pheelipe. Rodermahn — I write him 
pretty, in Engleesh, yes ; and I vill shade him, yes. R, a capeetal R, o, d, 
m, a, n. Pheelipe Rodermahn. There. Now, what ceety ? " 

" Now write it in Arabic, please," said Philip, a little embarrassed by the 
crowd. 

" Pretty soon ; in a meenute. You vait. First, what ceety, — vere you 
leeve ? " 




AIRO STREET. 



" New York," Philip answered. 

"All right, all right; I make him ver' preety. N, big N, e, w ; Y, a big 
Y, o, and r, and k. There. Now I write you my own beaiUifid name. 
See ! " and he added his own name with rapid strokes. 

" Tres bien ! '' said Harry, jokingly. 

"Aha, vous parlez Frangais, eh? Et moi, aiissif Ou apprenez-vous 
le Frangais ? " 

"A Pai'is" said Harry, a little taken aback. '' Je le parle un peu, niais 
je Ic comprend." 

"■ Ah, (a va bien / Regardez ; zwici T ArabiqueT 



66 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



Turning the card over, the accomplished scribe traced the graceful 
curves, and handed Philip the card, saying, " I can write heem as well in 
four language." 

Philip put down two nickels, and waved his hand when the man looked 
up in surprise. 

''Ah, merci, msieu/ Je vous remercie, ei — ati revoir!" 




THE SOUDANESE BABY. 



" Au i^evoir/ " said Harry ; and the three moved away with very kindly 
feelings toward the clever card-writer. 

As they turned toward the further end of the street, an elderly Arab 
passed them with a stony glare, repeating aloud over and over, "Hello! 
How-de-do ! Good-mormng ! Hello ! How-de-do ! Good-mormng ! " but 
paying no attention whatever to any one in particular. 

" Now Philip says he 'd like to go into the Soudanese Exhibit," said Mr. 



THE SOUDANESE BABY 



67 



Douglass, looking at a little plan of the Plaisance. He was a systematic 
traveler, and always secured a map or plan of each place he visited. They 
turned into a small inclosure, after buying tickets and seeing them dropped 
into a battered black tin box (the regular 
preliminary to all the shows), and found 
themselves the only visitors in a canvas 
tent that sheltered a board platform raised 
a little above the ground. On the plat- 
form sat two men and a woman ; and 
about the tent was playing a lively little 
Soudanese baby — advertised outside as 
the " Dancing-baby only eighteen months 
old ! " 

It was to photograph the baby that 
Philip had come in. But no sooner did 
the awful black box appear than there 
was a hubbub. 

"No, no!" shrieked the mother. 




THE FLOWER-GIRL. 



fiercely. 

" Nah, nah ! " cried the men; and Philip, supposing that he had threat- 
ened to interfere with some of their religious scruples, dejectedly lowered 
his box. But, as they turned away, our innocent travelers quickly had their 
eyes opened to the true situation. 

" One dollar, one dollar ! " cried one of the men, following them up. He 
was tastefully attired in a fez, a long white burnoose (a garment exactly like 
a nightgown), and red slippers. 

Then Harry, who had traveled abroad, felt equal to the situation. He 
wheeled around with a look of grieved surprise. 

"One dollar?" he exclaimed. "Oh, no, no. Twenty-five cents. One 
quarter." 

" No, no. One dollar ! " spoke the Soudanese. 

"One quarter," insisted the American boy, "or fifty cents for the whole 
family " ; and he waved his arms as if amazed at his own lavish generosity. 

" No. Fifty cent for the baby," suggested the dark dickerer. 

"Twenty-five in here, fifty if you will take her into the sunshine. Come 
along," said Harry, starting for the door. 

" All-a rieht ! " and the Soudanese made the barrain. For the half- 
dollar, he conducted the baby to a good light, and let her be taken. 

This little tot was as bright as a new cowrie-shell ; she had around her 
waist a dozen rows of tiny dry hoofs taken from some small animal, and 



68 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



these gave her great delight. She crowed and jumped, and rattled at every 
motion. 

"Why, a rattlesnake would be scared to death at such a baby!" said 
Harry; " and her mother could n't lose her if she tried. But she could n't go 
to church with that thing on — not if she was restless ! " 

After taking one more picture, the portrait of an Egyptian flower-girl 
who wandered into the tent, and whose costume, if not her face, was her 
fortune (at a quarter for every photograph), the explorers waved a final 
good-by to the rattling baby and turned again into Cairo Street. 

Before an attentive circle, just outside the inclosure, an Arab was begin- 
ning a performance of trained animals — at least he had a kid poised on a 
pedestal, and a monkey making ready to ride. 

Philip pressed forward to the inner edge of the ring, and leveled the 
box. He snapped the shutter. Catching the noise, the animal-trainer 
pulled the kid suddenly down and shook his head with a triumphant grin. 
Philip moved away, while the bystanders laughed. 

'"He laughs best who laughs last,'" thought Philip to himself as he 
wound up the exposed film and rejoined his companions. 




* HE LAUGHS BEST WHO LAUGHS LAST. 




m CAIRO STREET. 



69 




THE FERKIS WHEEL. 
70 




CHAPTER VI 

The Midway Plaisance Visit continued — Lnnch at Old Vienna — The 

Ferris Wheel — The Ice Railway — The Moorish Palace — 

The Animal Show. 

For luncheon they turned into " Old Vienna," passing a 
gorgeous guard in a canary-yellow medieval costume. They 
found a table under an arbor, and ordered a most unwhole- 
some German lunch. At first Mr. Douglass had trouble in 
making out the German names of dishes on the bill of fare, and 
he asked Harry, the traveled member of the party, to read it 
for him. To his great admiration, the boy translated the items 
'■<i-^ with readiness and accuracy. 
"Why, Harry, you are thoroughly up in German eatables, at all events!" 
he exclaimed. 

'Tt requires only a little careful attention," said Harry, laughing; and, 
putting down the bill of fare, he showed Mr. Douglass that it had an Eng- 
lish translation just opposite the German. 

"That is certainly the best system for teaching foreign languages I have 
seen," Mr. Douglass agreed. " I begin to understand it myself" 

After finishing what they could eat, — there was much that they were 
compelled to abandon, — they sat a few moments over their small cups of 
coffee, listening to a fine band that played airs from the opera "Carmen." 
"When we leave here," said Harry, " sujDpose we go up in the Ferris 
Wheel ? That gives a splendid view of the whole region, and several people 
have told me it is one of the best things in the Fair." 

" Can I take photographs from it?" asked the camera-bearer. 
" We will ask," Mr. Douglass replied. 

They were told at the office that they would be permitted to take 
pictures upon signing a statement that they were not for publication. 



72 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



Philip, however, asked for and obtained a suspension of this condition; and, 
armed with the permit, they took their place opposite a little door that sep- 
arated them from the enormous iron spider-web. 

In a few minutes the Wheel came slowly to rest, a sliding door Avas 
opened, and they entered one of the small cars, of which the Wheel carried 
some forty suspended within the two great rims. The door was shut, and 
up they flew, as if in a balloon. 




OLD VIENNA. 



At first they went completely around without stopping. As they 
mounted into the air, over two hundred feet, the whole region was mapped 
out about them. They saw the Fair, the lake, Chicago in the distance, — 
beneath a veil of hazy smoke, — the Midway, a long white road dotted with 
its puppet sight-seers. Old Vienna, where they had lunched, dwindled into 
a toy village. 

Philip took several views, but most of them were during the second 
trip, for then they stopped every now and then to let off and take on pas- 
sengers, three cars being emptied at a time and at once refilled. He took 
a view from the Wheel, and a view looking across the Wheel inside. 

There was nothing unpleasant in going up or coming down ; but when 
the Wheel stopped, one had the awful thought that something might give 



OLD VIENNA- 



■THE FERRIS WHEEL 



IZ 



way. Now and then came a slight creak or crumble, as if some part was a 
little strained ; but it need not be said that the Wheel did not come down. 
Neither did any of the cars turn heels over head — that is, floor over roof — 
as Philip for a moment dreaded. In talking it over afterward, Harry said 
that his notion was that perhaps the Wheel might stop and leave them up 
there, and he wondered how they would get down. They came out much 
gratified with their upward flight, and spoke heartily in praise of the per- 
fect engineering skill shown in the Wheel's construction and operation. 

" x'\nd do you know, boys," said Mr. Douglass, "the Wheel came here 
in sections and was put together for the first time on these grounds ? It 
has run smoothly and safely ever since, and is in every way just what its 
designer meant it to be. He is still a young man, and may some day do 




GOING INTO THE CARS OF THE FERRIS WHEEL. 



even more wonderful things. It is well not to forget that the most difficult 
engineering feats are not always the ones that seem most wonderful to the 
public." 

"Say," Harry cried out suddenly, pointing southward, "there's some- 
thing that looks as if it would be good fun." 

Philip and Mr. Douglass turned, and saw what looked like an old-fashioned 
"double-ripper" — a sleigh shooting down and up a long toboggan-slide. 



74 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



As they had no objection to trying it "for the fun of the thing," they went 
over and bought tickets for ten cents, entitUng them to seats in the sled. 
Once or twice it dashed past them; then it came to a halt, and they all 




FROM THE FERRIS WHEEL — LOOKING EAST. 



scrambled in, taking their places in the seats, which held three apiece. Then 
a gong rang, and they were off! Starting slowly, the sledge gradually 
increased its speed until it met an incline, up which it went more slowly, and 
would have stopped except that a cable gripped it and hauled it to the 
top of the hill. Then, again released, the sledge sped down with great 
rapidity, but was checked by a curve around which it whirled "like all 
possessed," as a fidgety old lady exclaimed; and indeed the passengers clung 
tightly to the sides. Around they went again and again, repeating the same 
experiences until the fourth time, when the car was stopped. 

One man, who sat next to Philip, said: "Where you from?" 

"New York," Philip answered. 

"I from St. Louis!" said the man triumphantly, evidently meaning to 
call attention to the wonderful fact that the world was small, after all. As 
they rounded the bend for the third time, the German said : 

" I lose my vife ! " 

" I 'm sorry," said Philip, sympathetically. 



THE FERRIS WHEEL THE ICE RAILWAY 



75 



" Oh, dat 's all right," said his talkative companion. " I get her again 
ven ve stop. She got on other sled. I could not for the crowd. But she 
vill vait for me; she vill not run avay. She is too good for me, anyhow ! " 

Philip was relieved that the trouble was not more serious, and after they 
left the car, the triumphant German pointed to his faithful spouse, saying: 
"See! I tol' you !" 

After taking a snap-shot at the moving sled, they left the building, secur- 
ing at the exit a handful of snow, which was, as the exhibitor claimed, real 




FROM THE FERRIS WHEEL — LOOKING WEST. 



snow. But he also said it was a souvenir; and as a souvenir it was a failure, 
unless it was kept in a bottle, for it melted after the manner of all well-con- 
ducted snow elsewhere than on high mountain-peaks. 

The "Moorish Palace" received their attention next. Ui^on entering 
they found themselves in what they considered a very ordinary show. It 
was a large room having tables and chairs, beer and tobacco-smoke, and a 
stage where a variety performance took place. 

Two young men, in evening dress, were carrying on a dialogue that 
Harry said was perhaps the most genuine antique in the Plaisance. This 
dialogue, varied by fair handsprings, lasted longer than the boys cared to 
stay ; so they wandered further into the Moorish mysteries. Groups and 



76 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



figures in wax occupied a large part of the second floor, but the only inter- 
esting object the boys saw was a printed sign requesting visitors not to talk 
to the wax fio-ures. Mr. Douo-lass's book had informed him that there was a 
"maze" of mirrors well worth seeing, but in finding this exhibit the party 
displayed more ingenuity than was shown in the maze itself "Dime 
museum" was the boys' well-considered verdict. Turning away, they were 
attracted by the cry: "Do not fail to see the performance in the great Moorish 
theater ! " Always willing to oblige, the party mustered three dimes, re- 
ceived tickets, and entered at this new door. 

"Well, well!" said Mr. Douglass, as he reached the edge of a balcony 
from which he could look upon the performance. The boys walked forward, 
supposing that he was expressing surprise. And so he was. 

They had paid another admission fee all round for the privilege of enter- 
ing the gallery of the same room from which they had departed in disgust 




A VIEW THROUGH THE FERRIS WHEEL. 



only a few minutes before. They were grieved rather than angry, and 
explained their plight to the ticket-seller. He did not let the matter weigh 
upon his spirits to any extent, nor did he seem much surprised. 



THE MOORISH PALACE THE ANIMAL SHOW 



n 



" Boys," said Mr. Douglass, as they descended the dusty stairs, " I think 
that 's enouorh of a maze for me." 

When once more in the roadway, they agreed to separate. Mr. Doug- 
lass preferred to go back to the Fair; Philip wished to try for a few more 
photographs, and Harry still kept his faith in the Wild Animal Show. 




LOOKING UP AT THE FERKIS WHEEL. 



So Philip and Mr. Douglass left him, and Harry walked toward the show. 

"Oh, I like the whole business; don't you?" he heard a woman say to 
a friend; and he was willing to agree so far, if he might except that Moorish 
maze. 

He found a large crowd pressing toward the Animal exhibit, and, buying 
a ticket at the door, was soon ushered into a very large amphitheater sur- 
rounding a circus-ring on a raised platform. Above the ring was a covered 
cage. Harry made his way toward a number of unoccupied seats, and was 
surprised that these were so empty while the others were so crowded. 

A little boy, coming to collect the tickets, announced: "You can stay 
here if you like ; but you won't see nothing much, for the animals sit around 
here, and you '11 have to look over 'em." So Harry took a better place, near 
two German gentlemen, one of whom courteously handed him a program, for 
which there was an extra chargfe made. 



78 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



A scarlet-coated band filled the air with melody, and the show began, 
introduced by a really blood-curdling roar, such as a healthy and hungry 
lion gives when he wishes to make an impression. The amphitheater was 




A VIEW TAKEN AT FULL SPEED ON THE ICE RAILWAY. 



as full of people as if it had been the only exhibition given that afternoon in 
Chicago. A baby elephant lumbered in, followed by a large hound and two 
ponies, and these animals went through a clever performance of marching, 
wheeling, waltzing, and posing under the direction of a graceful young girl 
dressed in a close-fitting purple velvet jacket, trousers, and military boots. 
They were excellently managed, and performed cleverly. 

A wild boar came next, — an ugly-faced fellow, — and was put through 
his feats of hurdle-racing and riding a chariot drawn by another boar. He 
failed at two hurdles out of three, knocking them over; but was made by the 
clown, his trainer, to repeat the trick successfully, amid applause. Once 
the clown made the boar sit down on a high tub, and then cocked a white 
hat over the animal's ear, giving him a comical appearance. 

The succeeding performance was one of the cleverest. A ring-master 
came in, bringing a small pony whose neck was covered by a thick white 
pad, and who carried a flat saddle upon his back. Afterward entered a 



THE ANIMAL SHOW 



79 




A SLEEPING LIONESS. 



lithe, tawny lioness, who ran cat-like around the ring, and another enor- 
mous hound who did little, but was probably an important part of the show. 

The lioness leaped upon a high platform, and as the pony came around 
the ring sprang upon his back just as a circus-rider does. Again the 
lioness leaped from the pony 
to another platform higher 
in the air, and awaited the 
pony's second circuit. It 
was very exciting to Harry, 
for the lioness seemed any- A- 
thing but cowed — snarling, 
raising her whiskers, and show- 
ing much spirit. 

Harry made up his mind that the hound was brought in as a sort of 
watch-dog, in case the lioness should show more spirit than the circus- 
performance demanded ; and this idea was strengthened by the presence 
of these great dogs in nearly every act — but usually as very minor per- 
formers. 

After the lioness had loped down the sloping passage leading from the 
ring, attendants came in and removed the carpets and mats used in the 
circus-performance. They returned with little wooden shelves arranged 
to hook upon the bars around the great circular cage, and put these in 
place. Then the lion-tamer entered, not in tights, spangles, armor, or 
tinsel, but in a dark business-suit that would not have attracted attention 
in the street. 

After him came in a "happy family," as it used to be called in the Bar- 
num days ; but not the sort of happy family that would be welcome if it 
should drop in to spend the evening. First came the dogs, then three 
bears, two black and one a polar bear, then lions, Bengal tigers, until each 
of the many little shelves had its occupant. 




MEAL-TIME. 



8o 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



These animals were admirably trained, and went through a variety of 
clever performances. One little black bear — just the sort of little fellow 

you would expect to see robbing bees 
of honey, or stealing a squealing little 
porker from a sty — was led out and 
invited to show the ladies and gentlemen 
how well he could walk on a great, 
blue, rolling ball. As he went forward 
to begin the act, his lounging gait set 
all the spectators to laughing, and his 
whole performance was equally funny, 
excellently as it was done. When through, 
he was rewarded by a lump of sugar 
produced from the ring-master's coat- 
tail pocket. The same bear also walked 
the "tight-rope" along a thick bar of 
wood. 

Meanwhile the polar bear acted as 
a clown. He seemed to find something 
very interesting about one of the big 
hounds. During each act, Mr. Polar 
Bear would leave his place and snuff 
around Mr. Dog's ears, and paw his 
neck with the great sharp claws necessary to one who walks much on 
icebergs and other slippery places. At one time, late in the performance, 
the bear seemed to conclude that the dog was good to eat, and began to 
take him in head first. But here the dog's patience gave out, and he 
howled a gentle protest that sent the polar bear back to his place. 

When the little black bear had finished his second act, the ring-master 
patted him upon the head with a pleasant touch of approval that was kindly 
and encouraging. 





iJMiS^tiwtoii 

YOUNG LION ASLEI£P. 



THE ANIMAL SHOW 



8l 



Then the animals changed about : the bear going back to his place, and 
the Bengal tigers slouching into the ring. A see-saw was put up, and, with 
a tiger on each end, was rocked to and fro by another black bear — one that 
had a peculiar white crescent upon his breast. After this the whole com- 
pany ranged themselves, standing, in a ring, and the big dogs leaped over 
their backs just as circus-riders leap hurdles. 

A chariot came rolling in, a number of the attendants followed, and two 
tigers were yoked up as if each were "the patient ox obedient to the goad." 

The biggest lion, 
draped in a scarlet cloak 
and crowned, mounted 
the chariot, while two 
hounds rested their fore 
legs upon the backof the 
chariot, and around the 
ring went the gorgeous 
procession — an animal 
Emperor making a tri- 
umphal procession. 

Another pyramid of 
animals was formed, and 
then all, set free, went 
rolling and tumbling 
about the arena, as their 
trainer stood among 
them giving out sugar. 

No exhibition of ani- 
mal-training could have 
been better, and Harry 
left the building well 
satisfied with his after- 
noon attheAnimalshow. 

Coming out into the Plaisance road once more, Harry started to walk 
back to the hotel. He had enjoyed the rolling-chair in the morning, but 
felt freer to go where he chose when he was by himself and on foot. He 
did not intend to see any more sights than he could help, but the boy had to 
keep his eyes open to see where he went, and so long as he did not shut his 
eyes, sights had to be looked at. 

In passing the Children's Building, he noticed carefully where it was, as 
he intended to come back to it soon ; then he walked throuafh the " Puck " 




82 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



Building, noticing the color-printing, and the pretty photograph of a child 
dressed as " Puck," and passed thence across a bridge to the quiet wooded 



■I'm I s 




THE POLAR BEAK. 



island. His eyes were rested by the soft green tints, and the quiet was very 
refreshing after the bustle and confusion of the Plaisance. All about were 
little fairy lamps of different colored glass, arranged 
in preparation for an illumination of the island that 



night. 




Harry wandered on without attending strictly to 
his course, and consequently found himself in the 
middle of the island without any means of crossing to the Manufactures 
Building. As he wished to walk the length of that building on his way home, 

he rather reluctantly retraced his weary way to the 
bridge leading to the Fisheries Building. But this 
mistake enabled him to warn another party of visi- 
tors against the same error, and they followed him 
over the two bridges to the Manufactures Building. 
He was too tired to look at exhibits, and walked 
doggedly down the long aisle until he came out upon the great Court of 
Honor. Here he rested a little while, feeling rather dazed, and then walked 
by the Administration Building in company with many out-going parties 
quite as weary as he. 




THE ANIMAL SHOW 



83 



A soldier in flaming regimentals passed, carrying a baby in his arms, 
while the unwarlike wife followed at his side, supporting the officer's heavy 
sword. This odd exchange of duties was the 
last thing Harry noticed before he left the gates. 

Mr. Douglass came home, and reported that 
he had spent most of the afternoon in examining 
the decorations and groups upon the outside of 
the larger buildings, particularly those upon the 
Administration Building, as he wished to write 
some account of it to a friend interested in deco- 
rative work. 

As to Philip, he resolutely refused to tell the 
others all about his afternoon except so far as this. He said, "I had some 
trouble about my camera, and it took me all the afternoon to straighten 
it out." 

Later, his little adventure came out, and shall be told. 






"A BUBBLE ijy- l.lull 
THE DOME OF THE HORTICULTURAL BUILDING BY NIGHT. 



CHAPTER VII 




Harry gets a Camera — The Stale and National Buildings — The Eskimo 
Village — Snap-shots out of doors — A passing Glance at Horticultural 
Hall — Doing their Best. 

"In the absence of any special instructions from your father, 
Harry," said Mr. Douglass, as they walked over toward the 
entrance of the Fair Grounds on the following morning, "I have 
so far let you have your own way. I think that 
Mr. Blake perhaps forgot that his letter of instruc- 
tions would not arrive at Chicago until we had been 
here at least a week. 

" Now that we have a general idea of the dis- 
play, of the grounds and their arrangement, I think 
it would be wise to go at them a little more sys- 
tematically. What do you think ? " 
"I should like that better," said Philip. " I feel all the time that we are 
missing some good things, and seeing poorer ones twice over. Don't you, 
Harry ? " 

" I suppose so," Harry answered slowly; "but I find it all too much for 
me. I find myself thinking more of the people I see than of the show." 

" Let us go and see some one part more especially," Mr. Douglass sug- 
gested; "some part that we know less about than we have learned of the 
larger buildings. How would you like to look at some of the larger State 
buildings ? " 

" I 'd like it," Harry agreed. " But I '11 tell you what, while Philip was 
using his camera yesterday I wanted one 'like sixty.' Why can't I hire 
one?" 

"You can," the tutor answered. "Where do we go to get it, Philip ?" 
"To the free dark-rooms back of the Horticultural. We can walk 
there : it is n't far from where we usually go in ; or, if you want to go in 
a new way, we can keep outside until we get to the proper entrance." 



86 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



All three were willing; and, keeping outside of the high board fence 
topped with several lines of barbed wire, they walked on for two or three 




THE CENTURY CO S ROOM IN THE MANUFACTURES AND LIBERAL ARTS BUILDING. 

blocks above the main entrance. The street was lined by booths for the sale 
of the omnipresent souvenirs — glass paper-weights, watch-charms, canes, 
lockets, and every sort of cheap knickknack ; and these booths were el- 
bowed by temporary shops and stands made to serve for restaurants, fruit- 
stands, shooting-galleries, tintype-galleries, cake-kitchens, — all the cheap- 
John establishments that could find room to claim a nickel from the 
passers-by. 

Coming to the entrance they sought, they met a young man in a blue 
uniform and cap showing that he was an agent of the Photographic Depart- 
ment. Harry paid him two dollars, and received a "hand-camera permit, 
good for that day only," the date being stamped on it in green ink. They 
found themselves, after passing the gates, not far from the photographic 
rooms. Here Harry secured a small, easily handled kodak, upon which 
Mr. Douglass made a deposit of ten dollars. 

"Now," said Harry, "I '11 show you how cameras are handled by experts." 



GREAT BRITAIN S BUILDING 8/ 

"But remember," the tutor reminded him, "that you are here to-day 
with the intention of going through some State buildings at least. Don't 
think mainly of taking snap-shots." 

" Oh, I won't," Harry replied, more seriously ; ' ' I only mean to take 
pictures of the groups of people here and there — especially the children. 
Children are always so interesting when they are at a place like this." 

Mr. Douglass smiled at the boy's grown-up airs, but said nothing more. 

"Come," said Philip, "I want to go over to the Manufactures Building. 
I saw in my magazine that one could register there, and I 'm going to do it. 
Besides, I have n't been in the galleries of that building yet, and I 'd like to 
go. We won't stay long, and we can meet there if we should separate for 
a while." 

They entered by the north door, climbed into the gallery, and found 
that some of the periodicals had arranged tasteful little rooms for the 
accommodation of the public. People entered these small compartments 
with a homelike feeling that was very pleasant to see. There were tables 
and chairs, books for the registry of visitors, and glass cases showing 
magazine- and book-work in full detail, besides many other things connected 
more or less directly with the subjects of the books and articles published. 
But, intending to return again, the boys did not linger over the exhibits, 
pausing only long enough to register their names. Here Mr. Douglass 
remained to talk to one of the attendants, as he expected some letters to be 
addressed to him in care of that exhibit, and the boys started together for 
the National and State buildings. 

These filled a large part of the grounds around the great art galleries. 

Their first visit was to the house devoted to Great Britain. They 
marched boldly up to the door, opened it, and stepped inside. 

A guard came forward and politely told them that on this morning 
the building was open only on presentation of a card. The boys turned to 
go out, but one of the gentlemen in charge — a handsome young English- 
man — courteously invited them to go through the rooms. They gladly 
accepted his invitation and guidance. 

"This," he told the young Americans, so politely that for the moment 
they almost regretted the famous "tea-party" in Boston harbor, — "is called 
\'^ictoria House by the Queen's own wish. It represents a manor-house 
of the Tudor period, of about Queen Elizabeth's time; but was made by 
a Chicago firm." Then he went on to call their attention to the fine ceil- 
ings, fireplaces, staircases, and inlaid cabinets ; and the boys found the 
house full of richly carved woodwork and furniture. Of the chairs, one was 
a model of that in which King Charles sat during his trial in Westminster 



88 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



Hall, and others were quite as well worth attention, among them being 

chairs designed for the use of Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales. 

Our sturdy young Americans gazed with becoming reverence upon all 




VICTORIA HOUSE. 



this elegance and grandeur, took a few notes of what they had seen, and 
walked down the steps much gratified by the attention shown them. 

"Where next?" said Harry, at the same time taking a deft snap-shot at 
some little folks in the road before the door. 

"Germany comes next," answered Philip, holding up a fluttering map. 

"Sprechen Sie deutsch?" said Harry. "If you do, come along." 

Entering the imposing German Building, they found at last some of the 
foreigners as to whom they had been inquiring. No sooner were they inside 
the door than sfuttural accents assured them that there were foreis^ners at 
the great World's Fair. The hallway was full of German publications, and 
in a lower story were many religious figures, modeled life-size and colored. 
Taking a stairway to the right, the boys came to a lofty mechanical clock, called 
a "Passion Play Clock," because figures, moved by machinery, went through 
a representation of the crucifixion. They heard a woman say, " Oh, I 
wish it was going ! Don't you ?" Then they descended the stairs again, and, 
returning to the main hall, they noticed a very beautiful stained -glass window 



THE GERMAN AND THE FRENCH BUILDINGS 



89 



at the further end. The middle panel showed Christ walking on the water, 
and those above and below contained modern steamships. A placard stated 
that the window was to be presented to the Naval Academy at Annapolis. 

Coming out, they were met by a puzzled woman, who inquired in a 
dazed way : 

"Where is that Anthropo — I don't know the name?" 

"'Way down at the other end, madam," answered Philip, politely raising, 
his cap. To which the woman responded despairingly, " Oh, my ! " and 
wandered off. 

"They never get much beyond 'Anthropo,'" said Harry; "and I don't 
blame them. I heard one of the guides the other day confidently call it 



g575Jjt*«''»***«*<'***** 




INDIA HOUSE. 



' Anthro-polo-logical ' and look proud. But this is n't photography," and 
he turned his back to the sun and held his camera in readiness. Snap! 
went the shutter, and then they walked on. 

"What did you take?" Philip asked. 

"I 'm not telling," said Harry, slyly. "I may be new at this business, 
but at least I know enough to keep dark until the negative is developed. 
' Don't count your negatives before they 're developed ' is my motto as an 
amateur photographer ! " 



90 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



"Here's the French Building," said Philip; "and is n't it French, 
though ? See the green grass, trees, and fountain in the middle. Let 's go 
in and see it. It is sure to be good." 

They found the French Building, as Philip expected, both artistic and 
interesting. There was an exhibit of transparent photographs on glass, 
explaining the method of measuring and describing criminals so that they 
may be always identified after being once in the hands of the police. Here 
was a panel devoted wholly to queer noses ; next came one upon eyes, or 
chins, or foreheads, each with a line of explanation in French, which Harry 
translated. Then there was a wax figure befor-e a camera, giving a vivid 
idea of the way these photographs were secured. A camera upon a very 
high tripod stood over another figure representing a body found dead — to 
explain how a picture-record is made of such cases. 

There were specimens of the work of invalids, probably hospital 
patients, and around another part of the building were large paintings show- 




Tlili MASSACHUSm lb blATE LLILDING. 



ing views of city squares and streets. The whole building was a proof of the 
skill of the French in arranging exhibits both sensibly and artistically, so 
that they would be both easy to view and pleasant to behold. 

A room devoted to relics of Lafayette was marked "Closed," for which 



THE NEW YORK STATE BUILDING 



91 



the boj's were sorry. They gave the French Building a good mark in their 
note-books, and went away wishing they could give more time to it — the 
best proof of excellence. 







THE NEW YORK STATE BUILDING. 



They had intended next to see the Massachusetts house ; but that also 
was not open, and they went by it on their way to New York's mansion. 
Entering the great door, they noted first a pavement of tessellated blocks in 
which were set the signs of the zodiac in brass, finely modeled. Just be- 
fore them they saw a long line of people crowding toward an enormous 
book that looked at least half a foot thick. A sign told them that they 
should register and have their names published in the " Daily Columbian," 
the Fair paper, as a means of finding old acquaintances. 

"Here she goes!" cried Harry, as he took his place at the end of the 
queue, with Philip next. They could see the book from where they stood, 
and were much amused, though a little impatient, to see the painstaking 
efforts of country folks to write a creditable signature. One nice old 
lady dotted an "i" at least three times, and each time with due deliberation. 

As each visitor wrote name, temporary address, and home address, Harry 
had to wait several minutes for his turn. The result was that he scrawled 
his own name in a great hurry rather than keep others waiting. Then he 



92 HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 

Avent half-way up the stairs, and took two short-time exposures toward the 
registering crowd. He doubted whether he could get anything worth pre- 
serving, but thought he would risk it. 

Then Philip and he went up-stairs to the banqueting-room — a stately 
apartment of which the boys were patriotically proud. Other rooms — one 
a colonial drawing-room with an old spinning-wheel, and an old cannon 
that was "fired at the births and deaths of members of the Rensselaer 




THE OHIO STA1E BUILDING. 



family," and the other a more modern apartment — fittingly flanked the cen- 
tral apartment. 

" Well, we 've got a splendid building," remarked Philip, with a sense of 
satisfaction. 

"Yes, sir," said Harry; "the old 'Empire State' always comes up smil- 
ing and takes a front seat right next to the band-wagon"; but he, too, was 
glad that his State was so creditably housed. 

Pennsylvania, with a great " Keystone " on the front, was next in their 
pilgrimage; and here they found the genuine old Philadelphia Liberty Bell 
occupying the post of honor in the vestibule. Though "marred and bruised 
by many a thump," the boys gazed upon it with genuine reverence. No 



THE PENNSYLVANIA AND CALIFORNIA STATE BUILDINGS 



93 



American boy could see it without something of the thrill in his veins that 
is the old bell's due. 

As they were gazing speechless upon it, a man behind them tried to 
express what all felt. He began, "That is the bell that — that rang, rever- 




THE CALIFORNIA STATE BUILDING. 



berating down through" — but here words failed him, and he passed silently 
on, a good though speechless patriot. 

Up-stairs they found tired Philadelphians in welcome quiet and seclusion. 
Even in the "Press- Correspondents' Room" pens moved with Quaker-like 
dignity over the paper ; indeed, one kindly old lady, on looking in at the 
door, remarked with sympathy. "Ah, yes, I see; people writing home to 
their friends !" 

In another up-stairs room were shown the original charter to William 
Penn, — a beautiful piece of antique writing, — and the Constitution of the 
State of Pennsylvania. Attached to the charter was a large wax seal, 
labeled over two hundred years old. 

" Pretty old wax, is n't it? " said a quiet man near Harry. 

"Yes — waxing old," the boy replied ; but as the man gazed upon him in 
puzzled surprise, the boy moved off, rather ashamed of his forwardness. 



94 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



Going out, they noticed General Greene's Revolutionary battle-flag, 
"baptized in the enemy's smoke" at Bunker Hill. They visited the 

Ohio Building, 
also, and then 
walked toward 
the Art Galle- 
ry; and Harry 
tried a snap- 
shot again. 
This time it 
was at a chub- 
by youngster 
who walked 
before them, 
carrying two 
packages of 
lunch, whilehis 
parents walked 
beside him. 
Cali- 
foun- 




A GROUP OF ESKIMO.* 



Winding up the film, the boys set forward at a rapid pace toward the 
fornia Building, pausing only to admire the great logs that formed a 
dation to the 



structure the 
residents of 
the new State 
of Washington 
had proudly 
built. The Cal- 
ifornia house 
was like the 
pictures of old 
Spanish Mis- 
sions ; it had 
anarcheddoor- 
way, tiled roof, 
and fine tower. 
Thoughthey 




long 



tbKLAlU \\U-MA.\ A.\U CHILDKEK. 



spent a 

time in this building, they were dissatisfied when they came away. There 

was " so much too much " to see. A relief-map of San Francisco, the knight 

* TJiesc plwiograjihs of the Eskimo village were made in Marcli, iSgs, "when there was siww on- tlie ground. 



THE ESKIMO VILLAGE 



95 




ESKIMO GROUP WITH SNUW HOUSE. 



"Sir Preserved Prunes," the grizzly bear modeled from life, the piece of Laura 
Keene's skirt showing dark stains where Lincoln's bleeding head had 
rested, the ex- 
hibits of school- 
work, — draw- 
ing, modeled 
maps.andexer- 
cises, — and es- 
pecially the 
stage - robbery 
exhibition made 
by the Wells 
Fargo Express 
Co., delighted 
both the boys. 
Then, too, there 
were paintings 
— one of Le- 
land Stanford 

driving the last railroad-spike uniting the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific 
railroads, several of scenes in midwinter, showing trees in full leaf — in short, 

the California 
show sent two 
Easternyoung- 
sters away full 
of hearty ad- 
miration for the 
young giant of 
the far Pacific 
coast. 

But by this 
time, useful 
knowledge was 
palling upon 
the two friends, 
and they gladly 
agreed to gfo 
back to the 

Eskimo village, which they had seen just as they turned south toward the 
Californian mission-house. They deposited two quarters, surrendered two 




THE ESKIMO AND THEIR DOGS. 



96 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



tickets, and walked into Greenland, only to be disappointed in the show. 
The sledge was upon wheels, which the boys had n't bargained for — though 
they hardly expected real ice-floes ; and the row of bark huts were dark and 




" THE SLEEP OF THE FLOWERS. 

A Bas-relief on the Horticultural Building. 



commonplace. The natives themselves looked furry and real, and the rein- 



deer and dog-s were interestinsf. 



THE HORTICULTURAL BUILDING 



97 



Two of the Eskimos, one the well-known young " Prince," held whips in 
their hands, ready to dislodge coins that might be set up as targets. Harry 
threw down a five-cent piece. The man stuck it up on edge, and then the 
whip-cracking resounded through the air. Judging by the number of shots 
they made unsuccessfully, Harry calculated that a five-dollar bill would 
have lasted them a month ; but he did n't try it. 

As they passed the building called "The Bureau of Public Comfort," 
Harry tried a shot at some people who were eating lunch upon the grass. 

Later, he saw a young girl with a kodak making for the middle of one 
of the bridges, and walked after her, hoping to take a picture of her while 
she herself was snapping the button. As she leaned against the parapet 
and leveled the camera, Harry saw that he could get a pretty negative, and 
himself took the young photographer. 

On their way home the boys walked through Horticultural Hall, with 
its palm-trees, its flowers, and its lofty glass dome. By this time, however, 
they had learned to see without noticing, and they decided to come back 
some other day if they had time — a resolution already made in regard to 
perhaps one hundred and fifty equally absorbing collections. 

But there were several fine groups of sculpture. One the boys felt was 
full of sentiment and beaut)^ ; it was called " The Sleep of the Flowers," and 
meant to be typical of autumn. The drooping of the vegetation and the 
lethargy of the coming winter were admirably translated into the action of 
the fiofures. 

" Philip," said Harry, "we ought to see all these groups — everywhere." 

"Harry," replied his cousin, "we are doing our level best." And, con- 
soled by this thought, they rejoined Mr. Douglass and went home. 




GENERAL VIEW OF THE HORTICULTURAL BUILDING. 





At a! 



\ 



-^-kJ^i'^l 'ill ^ «jLi 



AN UNFRAMED PICTURE. 



CHAPTER VIII 




A CHAIRLOAD. 



What People Said — The Childreji s Builduig — The Woman s Build- 
ing — The Poor Boys' Expensive Limch — The Life-saving Di^ill. 

"Do you think you are now capable of find- 
ing your way around without my help?" Mr. 
Douglass asked, in planning out the next day's 
program. 

"Yes, sir," Philip answered. "After all, the 
plan of the Fair is simple enough. It is only 
after one gets into the buildings that it becomes 
confusing. Several times I have intended to 
come out facing one building only to arrive at another. But I can soon set 
myself right again." 

"How about the Intramural?" asked Harry, with affected anxiety. 
"Have you got that straight yet — or does it still run in a circle?" 

"Come, Harry," Mr. Douglass interposed; "Philip has learned better 
than to go wrong again. What shall you boys do to-day? — I am going to 
see the Government Building, unless you need me. I should like to see the 
Patent Office Exhibit." 

"I don't know that we shall keep together all day, but Philip and I 
agreed to see the Children's Building and the Woman's Building, anyway. 
Besides, there is a life-saving drill on the lake front at half-past two, and 
perhaps we can get through in time to see that." 

Promising to meet again for dinner, the boys left Mr. Douglass to 
finish breakfast leisurely, and set forth for the upper part of the grounds — 
the north end. 

As they went along, Philip drew out a little note-book and pencil, in- 
tending to note down the bits of talk he should overhear from passers-by. 
He seldom caught more than a scrap, but some of the fragments were 

99 



lOO 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



queer and suggestive. The first was the expression, "Perfectly magnifi- 
cent!" Then came a heavy Western man, in a broad felt hat, eagerly tell- 




THE CHILDREN S BUILDING. 



(i<ii»;M 



WM , „ 



^|vt^. ^^ ,^ 

■^ mg two friends, "Why, 

if you was to spend only one 
second in front of each exhibit — " 
but they passed on. Then followed these : 

"Think / 7/ wander around this way?" 

"Ain't that it, over there?" 

"Get the Orficial Cat-a-logue here." 

Entering the Horticultural Building, intending only to walk through it, 
they heard these: 

"You been here, John?" 

"Wal, I was just a-lookin' to see." 

"Pennsylvania is along here, I guess." 

They heard one man assert, "I don't think that it is any good at all!" 
Whereupon his friend insisted, "Now, you just go along and see." 

At a stand where a sharp young woman was selling "ever-pointed" 
pencils, a man inquired, "What '11 I do when the points are all gone?" To 
which the saleswoman scornfully retorted, "Is n't two years long enough 
for only ten cents? — but even then you can get new ones at any sta- 
tioner's." 

Coming out of the Horticultural, they caught the words, "The biggest 



A SELF-PROPELLING SPRINKLER 



lOI 



revolver in the world," but never found out whether the speaker was 
referring to the Ferris Wheel, or to the Equator, or what. 

A woman passed by telling her husband about lunching. 

"Why, it scares them to death! Twenty-five cents was the cheapest on 
the bill of fare! But they took it, and they enjoyed it immensely!" 

"What do you suppose it was, Harry?" asked Philip, who liked to know 
all that went on. 

"Can't imagine : possibly a watermelon," Harry answered. "It could n't 
have been a turkey, judging by the prices we 've seen." 

Two young girls passed talking about the exhibits. Said one, " I 'm 
not at all sensational over anything." Whereupon the other told her, "Well, 
I like to get enthused over a thing like this." 

By the side of the road was a closely cropped and velvety lawn, and 
over the lawn a patent sprinkler was propelling itself. The water in pass- 




THE gymnasium: children s building. 



ing through the pipes set in motion wheels that propelled the little sprinkler 
slowly over the lawn so as to distribute the water evenly. It was a clever 
invention, and its utility was evident. Philip and Harry stopped to 
examine it, but Philip still kept his note-book in hand, and soon had jotted 
down these entries — speeches made at sight of the little motor: 



I02 HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 

"Greatest thing I ever saw !" 

("Evidently he did not come here by way of Niagara, as Phinney did," 
remarked Harry.) 

"Runs itself — water does it! See?" said one. 

"Pretty — good — scheme!" exclaimed another. 

"Seen 'em before," came from a third. 

"Aiiit that orood?" observed a fourth. 

And then Harry and Philip went on; but they talked it over, and con- 
cluded that the little sprinkler was a rather independent machine to have 
set loose on a lawn. Sleeping dogs, and people dozing in hammocks, w^ould 
have to take their chances. 

By this time they had reached the Children's Building, and after admir- 
ing the frescoed medallions on the walls, showing children in various foreign 
costumes, they entered by the main door. First they went up-stairs to the 
second floor, as they had been invited by the lady in charge to come there 
at once. Unfortunately, she was not in; but there was plenty in the room 
to interest them. Upon the walls were large and small drawings, engrav- 
ings, and photographs of writers known to children or especial favorites 
of young readers. They saw Miss Louisa M. Alcott ("Jo," of "Little 
Women"), Hawthorne, Longfellow, Whittier, Mary Mapes Dodge, Thomas 
Bailey Aldrich ("Tom Bailey," of "The Story of a Bad Boy"), Frank R. 
Stockton (whose "Jolly Fellowship" was a favorite book of Harry's), Thomas 
Hughes ("Tom Brown at Oxford" and "Tom Brown at Rugby"), Holmes, 
Lowell — and ever so many more; but the author of "Billy Butts the B03' 
Detective" was left out without being missed. 

Along the middle of the library ran a glass case showing manuscripts, 
proof-sheets, and pictures that went to the making of "The Youth's 
Companion" and "Harper's Young People." They had already seen a 
similar display of material for "St, Nicholas" in the publishers' rooms, 
where they had been the day before. It was a keen pleasure thus to see 
"how the wheels go round," and to realize that the stories had an existence 
in pen and ink fresh from the authors' hands. 

At one end of the room several bookcases contained books for or about 
children, from the earliest to the most modern. One book of the seven- 
teenth century was bound in sheepskin and illustrated with odd little wood- 
cuts to show different trades and pursuits. Near these older books were 
arranged autograph letters from Longfellow, Frank R. Stockton, Palmer Cox, 
Mrs. Cleveland, Colonel Higginson, Edward Eggleston, Bayard Taylor, 
George MacDonald, Christina G. Rossetti, Edward Everett Hale, Miss 
Alcott, Dr. Holmes, Helen Hunt Jackson, D. C. Oilman, and others, of whom 



THE CHILDREN S BUILDING 



lO: 



Philip and Harry Icnew more or less. In the library Philip also noticed 
a picture of Henry D. Thoreau, and reminiscent views of Walden Pond. 

Up-stairs, too, was Miss Huntington's " Kitchen-Garden," a school meant 
to teach the children of poor people in the city how to do well and cheer- 




THE library; children S building. 



fully their household work. The little folks sang songs while making beds, 
setting tables, or sweeping rooms, and learned how to make and how to 
enjoy a neat home. In another corner was a school where deaf children 
were reciting as if they could hear, and were reading from the motions of 
their teacher's lips what she said. 

When Philip and Harry went into this room, a big boy was writing upon 
the blackboard. They heard the teacher tell him to put down five words. 

He watched her lips while she spoke, and after some consideration 
wrote slowly the word " Money." The teacher told him to go on ; but, after 
a long pause, the boy said that he could n't think of any more. A little girl 
named Grace put up her hand, showing that she had thought of some ; and 
the boy turned to her, very willing to be helped. So Grace took up his 
task, and wrote, "Truth, Care, Happy, Mirth" — quite a different kind of 
words from the sort the boy had chosen. To these short words the pupils 



I04 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



added endings, as 



Care-less = care- 



Truth-ful = truthful full of truth," 
less = without care," defining the words thus made. 

Philip found It hard to remember that these scholars were deaf; but, as 
the two cousins were leaving the room, they saw at the door a little girl not 
nearly so far advanced. The teacher was showing her how to pronounce 

words, touching the child's nose 
when she did not properly sound 
the letter "n," and otherwise 
teaching her the very elements 
of speech. This sight made it 
easier for them to understand the 
difficulties the older pupils had 
overcome, and they went out with 
a better idea. of the value of sound 
hearing. 
Around 




TEACHING THE 



the top of one of 
the rooms was a strange checkered frieze, which, when closely examined, 
proved to be thousands of card temperance pledges signed by "children 
of all the world," as the inscription told them. Being red and yellow, the 
cards made a pretty bit of decoration. Also on the second floor were a 
kindergarten class-room, with specimens of the work upon the walls ; 
and a class-room for "sloyd,"or simple work in wood. But the latter 
was just then not in use, though there had been classes there not long 
before. 

As they were standing in a corner of the hall, looking at some pictures 
from children's magazines, drawn by Reginald Birch, Alfred Brennan, and 
other favorite illustrators, they heard a little boy say : 

"Mama, come this way. I want to see the playthings ! " 

"No; come on. I must see this room," his mother answered; at which 
the boy whined out : 

" Oh-h ! you won't let me see a single thing !" 

This, if not exaggerated, was certainly a strong statement to be made 
by a small boy at a World's Fair. To take a child into the Fair and not to let 
''him see a single thing was not only cruel, but even remarkable. Probably 
the boy overstated it. 

Harry and Philip went up on the roof, but found nothing there, and then 
went down to the ground floor. Here, at one end, was the place where 
children were deposited while their parents enjoyed the sights at the Fair. 
One small boy was weeping bitterly, while his father and mother tried to 
console him. Philip stopped, and the father of the child said, " We were 



THE CHILDREN S BUILDIXG 



105 



going to leave him here, but he does not seem to like it"; so one boy was 
not checked. 

The boys would have been glad to see these little ones, but the windows 
and doors were crowded all the time they were in the building ; so they gave 
up the attempt, and only glancing at the Illinois room, spent their last few 
minutes in watching the children who had come in to exercise. 

The whole central portion down-stairs was fitted up as a gymnasium, and 
there was a director in attendance to show visitin©- children how to use the 




THE NURSERV: CHILDREN S BUILDING. 



apparatus. There were children jumping, climbing, and swinging, and 
enjoying themselves keenly. It was open at certain hours every day, and 
was always filled with young athletes. 

Feeling that they had now been through the Children's Building, they 
stepped across to the adjoining exhibit, the Woman's Building, but walked 
around it half-way, so as to enter at the main entrance. They found the 
building a larger one than they had expected, and spent more time there 
than they had thought necessary. Of course there were many things on 
which no self-respecting boys would waste time — things their sisters might 
understand, but which they saw nothing in. The embroideries, for instance, 



t^ 





\ ' 




y \ 






XT-- 
o 

-6 









^ 



\ 






J! 






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* 








M 






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1 tH 



ll 



\\i 



vA 



'L . "?_ o^R:^^iLikit\ttM^^^^ 



THE WOMAN S BUILDING 



107 



were to the boys only pictures; they did n't pretend to say which nation was 
entitled to the gold medal for needlework. Neither did they pause long 
before the dressmakers' exhibits. But, still, they found enough in every 
direction to delay their departure, and it was time for lunch before they 













THE WOMAN S BUILDING. 



were ready to leave. They liked the frescos, particularly that showing the 
"Lady with the Lamp" among the sick soldiers. 

In the educational exhibit, they heard a little girl exclaim, " Those are 
mine!" pointing to some drawings; but they did not see much to interest 
them (in their fastidiousness) except a method of firing colored signal- 
rockets from guns or pistols; and when they heard a portly woman saying to 
her friend, "Now, as for me, I would line it with — "they began to rush past 
everything in the nature of dry goods. An embroidered curtain, showing 
a combat of dragons, detained Harry long enough for him to declare it 
"the most mixed up thing he ever saw, for he could n't untangle t' other 
dragon from which dragon, and he did n't believe the whole Board of Lady 
Managers could, either." 

A case of dolls showing Dutch, Quaker, and other costumes, the boys 
were sure girls would like ; and while standing beside it, they heard a 
woman say to her husband: "That doll is dressed the way women dressed 
when you and I were young." It was a dress such as the boys had seen in 
pictures of war-times — about 1S63. 

In one case was some needlework by Queen Victoria, but the ardent 
inhabitants of our great republic prevented the boys from seeing how deft 
royalty was with the needle. 

"Anyway," said Harry, "she never sat in unwomanly rags plying her 
needle and thread." 

In the art gallery of the Woman's Building the boj's noticed only a 



io8 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



few of the pictures; "Jean and Jacques," by Marie Bashkirtseff, was one 
they particulariy liked. It showed two little French boys going "unwill- 
ingly to school," dressed in their black blouses. Another was a little girl 
playing hide-and-go-seek behind a low bush. She had a sweet little face 
and bewitching smile. 

They also liked the "Ethnographical Department," where they found all 
sorts of weapons and utensils from Africa, collected by Mrs. French-Shel- 
don, the explorer. Harry did n't altogether like the idea of a woman's 
showing that she explored, just as if she was a Sir Samuel Baker with a 
great beard, and he consoled himself with the reflection that even Mrs. 
French-Sheldon probably could n't whittle a stick. 

In the gallery were drawings and paintings, among them some by 
Queen Victoria and other noble amateurs. Harry, owing to the fact that 
the crowd usually remains below stairs, was able to critically examine the 
Queen's sketches. The hind legs of one of her dog-drawings particu- 
larly delighted him, since they proved beyond question that there is no 
royal road to animal-drawing. Harry himself had often found the same 
trouble in drawing the same points, and a warm artistic sympathy welled 
up in his heart for the great Empress of India in her struggles to conquer 
animal-drawing. When, in the same gallery, he saw some drawings by 
Mary Hallock Foote, an artist whose works he admired, he believed that 

he would rather be a 
plain American who could 
draw than a crowned 
queen who did very well 
considering how busyshe 
was with state matters. 

They glanced into 
the stately California 
room, upon the floor of 
which was a great griz- 
zly-bear rug, and then 
made up their minds that 
it was time to be lunch- 
ing if they intended to 
see the life-saving crew at work. But on their way out, they stopped long 
enough for Harry to have his name written by a woman card- writer, who 
used a pen set "skew-shaw" on its handle. She added his residence — the 
State only — and the date. It cost him five cents, but he felt that Philip 
was no longer one ahead of him. 




^^. 



__y4:^^-^ ^U-ry^ __ 



THE POOR BOYS EXPENSIVE LUNCH IO9 

Philip saw a machine marked " Music, Fortune, Weight," with the usual 
request about dropping a nickel. He stood on the platform, and dropped 
the nickel. The machine played " The Sweet By and By," and shoved out 
a ticket upon one side of which was stamped 



lERTlFICATEo' MY WriQHT 




^^ V/£.lGHTBl 

Chicago RecoRoiNe Scale 

^ OFriCE 35 EilNOIANA ST. :;a 



his weight, "95," and upon the other was, 
" You will soon receive a fortune from across 
the sea." 

They walked between the State buildings 
over toward the lake, intending to take lunch 
somewhere nearer the shore. When in front 
of Ohio's Building, with its projecting portico, 
they stopped to look at the great statue in front. A woman's figure upon 
a lofty pedestal raises her arms proudly as if to call the attention of all 
the world. Around the pedestal, like a row of bad boys sent to stand 
against the wall for whispering, are a ring of Ohio's great men, including 
Grant, Garfield, and Stanton. In prominent letters around the pedestal 
are the words, "These are my jewels." While the boys were looking at 
this little piece of justifiable brag, two women came along, and paused 
beside them. 

'"These — are — my,'" then moving a little further, — "'jewels.' Hum! 
Yes; of course. Those are the words that Queen Isabella said to Colum- 
bus, you know, when she gave him her jewels to fit out his ships." Both 
then walked away, enriched with the spoils of history. 

Philip and Harry looked at each other, but made no remarks. Their 
minds were busy in replacing the State of Ohio, Queen Isabella, and the 
noble Cornelia in the niches from which they had been so rudely torn. In 
some ways, that was the most remarkable exhibit they met that day at the 
Fair. 

At the same table where they had lunch, a young fellow sat down with 
two little boys. They looked poor. 

"What will you have, Johnny?" the eldest asked one of the little 
fellows. 

" Bread 'n' butter." 

"That 's cheap," the eldest said; and, after a little more talk, they or- 
dered fried sweet-potatoes. 

" Nothing else ? " the waiter said. 

" Nothing else." 

When they were through, the waiter was asked " How much ? " 

" Ninety cents." 

Then there was silence, while the big boy fumbled in his pockets. Four 



no 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



tiny bits of sweet-potato, bread and butter — ninety cents. It was hard, 
and Harry spoke to the waiter about it. 

" I can't help it," said the waiter. " It 's the rule." So the bill was 
paid. It was another interesting exhibit. 

They gladly left this restaurant, and made their way out into the honest 
breeze from the lake, taking their places upon the shore so as to see the 
life-saving drill. It proved well worth coming to see. 

The first sign of life was two rows of white-jacketed men that filed out 
throuo^h the dense crowd which lined the lake shore. The lake was roug-h 
and spray shot high into the air as the waves rolled against the breakwater. 
But the men rushed the boat down the beach, and steered by one who 
stood in the sternsheets holding a long oar astern of the boat they made 
their way out to a mast that rose from above the water's surface to repre- 
sent the mast of a wrecked vessel. It was a struggle, but they finally 
reached the mast, and one man and a boy got out of the boat and stood 
upon a small platform not far above the waves. 

With even more difficulty the boat returned to the shore ; and, after 
some delay, probably to arrange the life-line and mortar, "bang" went the 
shot, and the line was carried by the missile fairly across a boom projecting 
from the mast. Then the man at the mast hauled in this light line until it 
brought him a heavier one ; and again he hauled until he had the end of a 
cable that came from the crew on shore. This he rove through a block 

upon the mast, and made it fast. It was made 
taut by the crew of life-savers, and out along 
this thread of salvation rolled the "breeches 
buoy," looking like a Quaker's hat turned up- 
side down. 

Into the breeches the boy put his legs, and 
was hauled ashore by a light line. 

Just as the boy came near shore, his legs came 
so near the water that he drew them up, frog- 
like, and the great crowd of spectators laughed 
and cheered. Again the little buoy and 
breeches traveled out to the mast. But the 
man out there had noticed the boy's gyrations, 
and seated himself on top of the buoy. 
"You bet your neck he ain't goin' to run any chances of getting his 
legs wet ! " cried a very appreciative young man ; and the wisdom of the 
remark far exceeded its elegance. 

After the man was landed, the buoy traveled again to the mast and 




THE LIFE-SAVING DRILL 



I I I 



Struck against the block there. Automatically, the cable was released and 
hauled ashore, and the same bolt released the rope, dropped a sign that had 
been rolled up like a map, and every one could read in plain black letters 
the words : " drill finished." 

Before the boys started for the "exit," it began to rain, and im.mediately 
there was a fine exhibit of umbrellas from every State in the Union. To 
keep dry the boys walked the whole length of the Manufactures Building. 

Harry timed their walk, and counted his steps. He was going slowly, 
with no desire to break or make a record. It took about 720 steps to go 
the full length of the largest building in the Fair, and the walk lasted nine 
minutes. 

Before they went to bed that night Harry was told of a remark over- 
heard by one of his friends. It was made by a tired old lady, who had 
come out of a large building and arrived unexpectedly in a strange and dis- 
tant quarter of the grounds : 

"Well!" she exclaimed, "when they planned this Fair, they put these 
buildings so that, wherever you come out, you ain't anywhere nearer any 
thing in particular ! " 




THE LIFE-SAVING BOA 








b' 







«^i5, 



JUST FROM THE RANCH. 
112 



CHAPTER IX 

The Manufacttcres and Liberal Arts Building — A Rainy Day — A Sys- 
tematic Start — "Irish Day" — Harry Strikes — Some Mitior Ex- 
hibits — The Tew Things They Saw — The JS levator to the Roof. 




A DISTORTING MIRROR. 



In the old days the navigators at first crept from head- 
land to headland ; then from island to island, and at last 
Christopher Colon, the intrepid hero of the fifteenth 
century, conceived the idea of sailing boldly forth into 
the unknown, secure in his faith in himself and in his 
fortunes. At least so Philip said in one of his old school 
compositions. And the boys, having at first touched here 
and there the points of interest, then took up a few of 
the outlying State buildings ; but now they intended, as 
Harry boldly put it, to see the elephant from beak to 
tail-feathers. That is, they planned to enter the Build- 
ing for Manufactures and the Liberal Arts. 

"This mammoth structure," began Harry at breakfast, in the tone of a 
dime-museum lecturer, "is steen hundred feet long, and even wider; and is 
provided with wings on all four corners, if not oftener. It contains the 
complete contents of the building, and various souvenirs and nickel-in-the- 
slot machines which are not reckoned in the table of contents. Little boys 
have been seen to enter at one end, and old men to come out at the other, 
besides those who went up on the roof; so you can draw your own con- 
clusions." 

"That 's all very well, Harry," said Mr. Douglass; "but have you been 
up in that elevator ? " 
" No, sir." 

"When you go, see if you feel like joking," Mr. Douglass went on. 
"I went up in it to-day." 



114 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 




"It's raining hard," 
said Philip, looking out 
of the window, "and I 
have n't any rubbers." 

"Nor I," said Harry; 
"but I did n't pack the 
satchels." 

"Well, we forgot 
them," said Mr. Doug- 
lass ; "so I suppose 
Philip and I ought to go 
out and buy some for 
the whole party." 

" Let 's all go to- 
gether," Harry sug- 
gested. 

They set forth, keep- 
ing: a o;ood lookout in 
all directions for any- 
thing like a shoe-store. 
So near the Fair it 
would have been easier 
to find the rarest thing 
in the world than simply 
a pair of rubber shoes. 
But finally they came to 
a shoe-store, and dis- 
covered that they were 
not the only little boys 
who had failed to imi- 
tate the little Peterkins 
in providingthemselves 
with rubber boots. 
There was a long line 
of customers extend- 
ing out upon what was 
called the sidewalk, 
good-naturedly await- 
ing their turns to be 
shod. They took their 



THE MANUFACTURES AND LIBERAL ARTS BUILDING 



115 



places at the end, and when rather moist, were admitted to the store in a 
chosen batch of six. They had to wait on themselves, and picked up the 
first thing that came. Mr. Douglass's first catch proved to be infants' over- 




iSS'r^^-'^i --i>^' 



1 ni%n(: jj^. 






-j^ ^—^^3r:=a 




^"1 




PORCH OF XLAJiUFACTURES AND LIBERAL ARTS BUILDING. 



shoes, but Philip found a pair that Mr. Douglass could wear. The pro- 
prietor told them to help themselves, and make themselves at home. 

"All right," said one of the customers; "we've all gotten acquainted 
while waiting on one another out here." 

Once well insulated from the ground, they turned the rattling stile 
at the entrance to the Fair, and picked their way over the mud that 
was like gray paint and nearly as sticky. The program declared that it 
was " Irish Day," and the same fact shone out from many a noble breast, 



ii6 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



and many a proud coat-lapel; for green badges flourished like bay-trees 
in the spring, and the shamrock bloomed despite the stormy skies. 

As they crossed a bridge from the Electricity Building to that of the 
Manufactures, they noticed that the dome upon the Illinois State Building 




ANOTHER VIEW OF THE MANUFACTURES AND LIBERAL ARTS BUILDING. 

was as unsubstantial and shadowy as a ghost. The crowd talked much less 
than usual, and there was little laughter. A number of French sailors 
passed them, but even their busy tongues were for once silent. The boys 
were glad to get into the great building, for it was here and there lighted 
by electric lamps, and the gaily colored exhibits diverted their minds from 
the gray and cloudy sky. 

"Boys," said Mr. Douglass, as they paused in front of the two elephant- 
tusks that rested before the Siam exhibit, " if you prefer it, I will go with 
you ; but, to be frank, I am inclined to think you would rather go by your- 
selves. Whatever you look at, you are sure to learn something, even 
unconsciously. And I am not ashamed to say that no one man can explain 
even to boys of your age a thousandth part of what we see here." 

"Mr. Douglass," said Philip, "I really think we 'd rather go alone, if 
you don't mind." "Very well," the tutor replied; " I shall probably stay 
in this building, too, but it is not likely we shall meet. At about half- 



THE MANUFACTURES AND LIBERAL ARTS BUILDING 



117 



past one come over to the bridge that leads to the lower end of the wooded 
island, and I '11 take you to lunch. A 2c revoir/" 

"Auf Wiedersehen / " Harry replied; and turning to Philip he said 
warmly, "Mr. Douglass is a good fellow, — there 's no 'Uncle George and 
Rollo' about him." 

"I think he 's right, too," said Philip. " If he was to try to tell us about 
things here, we could n't listen if we wanted to : there's too much to see." 

"Well, he 's having a good time, too," said Harry. "It 's a good idea to 
take your tutor to Chicago and improve his mind. Where shall we begin?" 

"We '11 go over into the publishers' corner," said Philip, pointing to the 
little map in his guide-book; "and we '11 take the galleries first." 

They walked toward that end of the building, but could not help seeing 
some things on their way. One was a group of curved mirrors that gave 
distorted and very laughable reflections. Another was a fine display of 
daggers, pins, and other jewelry, inlaid in gold. Harry took a fancy to 




FROM A WINDOW IN THE MANUFACTURES AND LIBERAL ARTS BUILDING LOOKING NORTHWEST. 



one bonnet-pin (he thought it was), the top of which was a dainty sword- 
hilt. He priced it, and left it there : it was twelve dollars. The boys saw 
a placard upon one tiny dagger saying it was sold to Miss Blank, and they 



K-VJK^BtSMW.-T-fRSWlS 





ONE OF THE 



THE MANUFACTURES AND LIBERAL ARTS BUILDING. PAINTED BY J. CARROLL BECKWITH, 



wondered whether she bought it for a paper-knife, or intended to become 
a vivandiere. 

On reaching the gallery, they first went through the publishers' exhibits, 
finding original manuscripts and drawings, collections of finely bound books, 
and courteous treatment everywhere. 

"I think," said Philip, as they came out of the last of these rooms, "that 
the publishers are all very polite to the public." 

"Ah," Harry replied, with a wise shake of the head, "they have to be. 
If they were n't, why we 'd just turn around and say, ' Here, you, stop my 
subscription ! ' and then where would they be ? You see, a man can't get 
along without food, and clothes, and things like that, but he need n't read 



I20 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



if he does n't want to — he can just spend his time over advertisements, and 
signs, and things people give away." 

"Would n't that be nice to have in schools?" said Philip, pointing to 
a big map of the United States upon the wall, nearly twenty-five feet high. 



.>\\ 







livA^ '\'>^. 



PART OF GROUP ABOVE MAIN ENTRANCE OF MANUFACTURES AND LIBERAL ARTS BUILDING, 



"Very," said Harry; "they 'd have to spread it out in the yard, and 
then the teacher would say, 'Johnny, run out and find Oshkosh, and don't 
run too fast or you '11 tire yourself before you get there! 

On the opposite wall was "the largest photograph in the world," a very 
long but uninteresting picture of those words with figures of real people 
leaning on the letters. 

An old man came by, saw the sign, wondered "whei^e that photograph 
was," and walked all around the gallery trying to find out. It was hardly a 
successful exhibit, but it was only to attract attention — there was a good 
display of regular work near it. 



HARRY STRIKES 121 

The boys at first stopped everywhere ; but soon they began to re- 
member what a task was before them, and they quickened their pace. 

PhiHp entered but few items in his note-book, and among them was 
a booth entirely covered outside witli ordinary playing-cards, which gave 
it an Eastern effect. One object that called for more than a glance was an 
old English clock — the Earl of Pembroke's clock; it was set in a high case 
of carved wood, most elaborate in design and executed with minute skill 
and care. They saw also a show-case that imitated a great trunk some 
fifteen feet high, with glass sides. But they were making slow progress, 
and hurried on until they reached a carved altar made by the inmates of 
St. Joseph's Orphan Home — a piece of woodwork worthy of any hand. 

Then began a long array of exhibits meant to illustrate the progress of 
scholars in lessons and manual arts. Each compartment was alloted to a 
certain school. For a few rooms the boys kept seriously at work examin- 
ing drawings, carvings, forgings, and compositions; but soon they heard a 
rollicking pianist down-stairs dashing off "St. Patrick's Day in the Morn- 
ing," and it brought memories of home to their minds. A lively jig-step 
was heard, followed by clapping and cheering. 

"See here, Phil," Harry broke out, facing about, "it may not be St. 
Patrick's Day, but it certainly is Saturday, and I 'm not going to be hood- 
winked into school work to-day. If there are any more compositions, 
kindergartens, and maps drawn by Bertie Wilhelmiina Marie Jones, you 
may see them if you like. I am going to skip them." 

"I 've seen enough; we '11 never get through this way," said Philip, 
looking despairingly at his watch. "So we '11 go on to something else." 

"Good-morning, boys, "said a slightly husky voice. 

"Good-morning, sir," they replied, turning to find an old Irishman, a 
respectable quiet-looking man. 

"I tell you this is a very wonderful show," he went on, evidently feeling 
that he must talk to some one. And from that beginning he went on to 
tell them that he was over sixty years old, had come to America in 1847, 
and had gone West by the Erie Canal, soon after. 

"Boys," said he, impressively, "you 've no idea of what a country you 
live in. I 've lived to see wonders in the last thirty years, and they 've 
changed the whole world, so they have. You can have no idea of it, not as I 
have. And it 's not in the East or in Chicago alone : it 's in the whole land. 
And there '11 be no telling what a country it '11 be. I 'm over sixty, and I 
went out forty years ago and took up a hundred and sixty acres of bare 
land, and now there 's people all around me : Norwegians, many of them ; 
and it 's good people and good neighbors they are ! " 



122 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



The boys were impressed by the seriousness of the old man's talk. 
" You are Irish ? " asked Philip. 

"Of course," he said, with a smile; and throwing open his overcoat he 
displayed a badge big enough to prove anything. They parted with mu- 
tual wishes of "good luck." 

Since Harry had refused to go further into the exhibits of school work, 
they went down to the main floor, and walked from the southwest corner 
northward. As in the other buildings they had visited, they found along the 
walls little stands where young women had on sale penholders, souvenir 
coins, shell-boxes, necklaces — cheap trinkets of all sorts. For the first few 
days the boys had gone to see what was shown at these booths ; but soon 
they found there was pretty much the same stock everywhere, and walked 
by indifferently. They had bought, however, a few things — one a little 
shield showing the arms Oueen Isabella granted to Columbus. 

Against the wall about half-way up toward the north end were several 
" graphophones" — contrivances something like Edison's phonograph. On 

dropping a nickel and hooking two hard-rubber 
tubes into the ears, one might hear instrumental 
music or songs. A small boy tried one of those 
machines while Harry and Philip looked on. The 
tubes were adjusted, and he stood gravely await- 
ing the result. A smile began to dawn on his 
lips. It spread widely. His mouth opened; he 
giggled aloud ; he kept on giggling with his eyes 
closing through pure joy. 

Harry tried the machine and found that it 
was repeating a comic singer's rendering of "The 
Cat Came Back," and he grinned quite as widely as the small boy had done, 
and afterward sketched the scene with full sympathy. 

" That 's a great invention for invalids," said Philip, thoughtfully. 
"Yes," said Harry, warmly; "think how it would soothe 
a restless invalid during a long night to hear one of those 
machines grind out ' The Cat Came Back ! ' " 

"Well, it would," said Philip, as soberly as he could. 
" You could n't be sad while listening to that song." 

Just as they were leaving, they saw a mother and child 
listening to the same graphophone, each having one ear 
to an end of the branched tube. " I don't know," said Philip, 
that's quite honest." 

The exhibit of a well-known manufacturer of steel pens had in the 




" — AND THE CAT CAME BACK.' 




A JAPANESE CARVING. 

whether 



THE HUNTERS CAMP 



123 



center of it a pen fully six feet long, apparently quite as huge an affair in its 
own way as the building. The boys stopped at this, but perhaps at another 
time they would have passed that by and looked at things they now ignored. 
There was so much it made them particular. If a display was not brightly 







THE HUNTERS CAMP. 



lighted, or was at all crowded, or required a few extra steps, it was left un- 
visited. Knowing they could see only a few things, they simply walked 
alonof, and let the exhibits show themselves. 

There passed them in rolling chairs an old minister and his wife, and 
Harry made up his story about them. He imagined one of the deacons going 
to consult with the elders, saying, " The Parson wants to go to the World's 
Fair. He has n't said so exactly ; but I can see he does. He reads all 
about it, and he talks about it — tells how big the buildings are, and all that. 
Can't we send him ? " There may have been no truth in all this, but it gave 



124 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



Harry great pleasure to see the old couple's enjoyment. Coming to the 
upper, or north, end of the building, they found the exhibits of stone- 
work, ironwork, paints, varnishes, and so on. But they turned back to 




INTERIOR OF THE MANUFACTURES AND LIBERAL ARTS BUILDING — SHOWING THE ELEVATORS. 

see the exquisite work of artistic Japan. Here were ivories, pottery, 
metalwork, embroidery, odd carving (one little bear, a grotesque figure, 
Harry stopped to sketch) — all designed and executed in perfection. The 
boys spent a long time here, and left dissatisfied. It was time to meet Mr. 
Douglass on the bridge, and they raised umbrellas, tramped through the 
mud, and, finding the tutor waiting for them, were soon on the way to the 
Horticultural Building, where they lunched at a restaurant on the second floor. 

"Where did you go, Mr. Douglass?" Philip asked. 

"I went to the other end of the grounds, to the Anthropological Build- 
ing. I heard there was a set of apparatus for measuring nerve-force, men- 



THE FIRE-BOAT 



125 



tal-power, and so on, which would be appHed to a visitor. I went through 
the process, and found it very interesting, though it took a long time." 

" Did you notice the Hunters' Camp and the Australian Bark Hut near 
the bridge we came over ? " Harry asked. 

"Yes; and went into both," said Mr. Douglass. " How well they con- 
trast with these enormous, complex show-buildings, reminding us how much 




THE FIKE-BOAT "FIRE QUEEN." 

that is shown here is not necessary to life or happiness ! After lunch 
I '11 go back with you to the main building, and we '11 ride up to the roof." 

Walking back, they noticed on the railings of the bridge a life-preserver 
and line, hung ready to be thrown at once to any one who might fall in. 
They also saw the "Fire Queen," a steamboat fire-engine, lying ready for 
service by the same bridge. " That shows," Mr. Douglass said, "how care- 
fully everything here has been thought out." 

Returning to the big building, they went through the silversmiths' and 
jewelers' exhibits, which were rich and elegant without being gaudy or tire- 
some. There were great crowds here — and they saw only a few of the 
pieces of silverware and jewelry. The Tiffany Glass Company's beautiful 
chapel they pronounced one of the successes of the Fair, and just opposite 
they stopped to examine many watches, watch-movements, and the ma- 
chines that made them. 

Coming to the elevators, they bought tickets and entered, without par- 
ticular thought about the trip. The door was closed, and the elevator 
began its upward journey. Until it was near the top Harry did n't look 
down. All at once he turned his head and saw the awful depth, where 



126 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



tiny figures moved noiselessly about. He was not an over-sensitive boy, 
but for the minute the sensation was one of appalled horror. It was not 
fear — he had no dread that the elevator would fall; he only felt the 
terrible height. It was an instinctive human shrinkine before the im- 
mensity of space. 

He turned away, and did not recover for several minutes. He had 
no inclination to joke, and, indeed, for a while he could hardly summon 
courage to step upon the board walk that led out upon the roof Per-" 
haps Mr. Douglass and Philip had somewhat similar feelings, for all three 
sat down upon a bench outside, and did not attempt to walk around 
the roof 

That one moment of dread did more to make the boys understand what 
a monster building they were in, than columns of figures, comparisons, and 
statistics could have accomplished. About smaller buildings one can 
reason; but this can be comprehended only when one is awed by its 
immensity. 




THE ROOF WALK, MANUFACTURES AND LIBERAL ARTS BUILDING. 



CHAPTER X 

Ph Hip at the A rt Galleries — The usual Discouragement — Walking Home — 
The "Santa Maria" under Sail. 




The next morning Philip decided that whatever the 
others were going to do, he had left the Art Galleries alone 
long enough, and that he would spend a part of his day 
wandering among pictures and statues. 

He walked from the southern end, where he had en- 
tered, along the whole length of the grounds. 



IN THE ART GALLERY. 



When he came to the bridge crossing the 
waterway between the North Pond and the 
Lagoon, he met two ladies evidently at a loss Avhether to 
turn to the right or the left in order to reach the Art Gal- 
leries. Raising his hat, he drew forth the map and showed 
them that they could go as well one way as the other ; and then he walked on, 
himself turning to the right. As he went along a path that led him around 
some of the smaller National Buildings, he saw a little grove of trees sur- 
rounding a boulder built of ctaff Along the top of this great rock was a 
figure, also of staff, representing a lioness with the head and shoulders of 
a woman — a sort of sphinx ; a Cupid was whispering to her, and she had 
an expression half of amusement and half of malice. There was no legend 
or inscription attached to the piece of sculpture, and all were left to make 
their own interpretation of the allegory. 

Considering the wealth of art stored up in the winged temple to which 
he was going, Philip did not dare to waste any time in reaching his goal; 
but first he drew out his little guide-book, and examining the plan that 
showed where the pictures of each nation were grouped, he decided to 
begin with the French section — that is, with the east wing. 





128 



PHILIP AT THE ART GALLERIES 



129 



He mounted the great steps, flanked by lions, and found himself at once 
surrounded by pictures on all four walls of a square room whose curtained 
doorways led to similar treasures beyond. Like all the world when in a 
picture-gallery, he did not see how he could examine the collection syste- 
matically. He was too much 
interested. Perhaps he would 
make up his mind to begin at 
the right-hand corner, and 
would march resolutely in that 
direction. Upon the way he 
would catch sio-htof a thrillino- 
battle-scene or a lovely face, 
and would pause, become fas- 
cinated, and lose all recollec- 
tion of his plan of campaign. 

After standing bewildered 
for a minute or two, Philip 
turned to look especially at a 
large painting showing Christ 
talking to the woman at the 
well, a beautiful and dignified 
piece of work,emphasizing the 
serenity and solemnity of the 
scene. Philip felt that this 
picture had put him in a recep- 
tive frame of mind, such as one 
should have when listening to 
a sermon ; and not long after- 
ward came a series of four 
well-known pictures, "The 
Prodigal Son," by Tissot, to 
preach the sermon. They 
represented a modern reading 
of the parable, showing the father bidding his son farewell; the son in any- 
thing but good company while absent; the return — a touching picture, 
showing the old father leaning to raise the young man kneeling at his 
feet; and the merrymaking over the fatted calf 

Although Philip had come primarily for Art alone, it was impossible for 
him to ignore the stories the artists had chosen as foundations for their com- 
positions. In ** St. George and the Dragon," for instance, who could help 




AN INIKKIUK \ lEU- UF lllli DoMlL uK TIIK FIXE AKTS BUILDING. 



I30 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



making up little bits of the story that had brought the bold St. George to 
the mouth of the rocky den where lay that very stupid and malicious 
monster with one cruel paw holding a victim at its feet ? 

Even that brilliant piece of coloring, " The Birth of the Pearl," required 
the story-telling faculty to account for the swift bubbling plunge of the 




A VIEW OF THE FINE ARTS BUILDING FROM NEAR THE NEW YORK STATE BUILDING. 

diver who opens the iridescent shell beneath which the Pearl Maiden is 
sleeping. A story nearly as good as the " Sleeping Beauty " was told in 
those gem-like colors. 

Of more direct interest to the boy was "A Singing Lesson in a Public 
School in Paris"; and Philip gladly would have spent much time in reading 
the little touches of character that made each boy in the crowded picture so 
interesting a figure. But he knew that he must slight many pictures in 
order to give any time at all to those which held him before them by 
making him forget everything else; so he went on to the next gallery. He 
was first delighted by "The Bath of the Regiment," a barrack-scene show- 
ing the members of a regiment passing one by one in front of a hose in full 
play : the spattering water, the wet floor, the shining skins of the soldiers 
were wonderfully rendered considering the difficulty of painting the details 
from nature. 



PHILIP AT THE ART GALLERIES 



131 



Another striking picture was the portrait of Pope Leo XIII. Philip 
recalled having read that the Pope had never before granted any artist a 
sittino"; but that M. Chartran, beinp- sfranted an audience, made a sketch 
that so pleased the Pope as to gain for the artist permission to paint this 
wonderful picture. The expression of the face was purely intellectual and 




IN FKO.NT OF THE FINE ARTS BUILDING. 



refined, and Philip felt sure the picture would never be regarded as other 
than a masterpiece. There were two small portraits by Weerts that were 
worthy to be ranked with this larger one. Two others, landscapes, also 
claimed attention, one a dainty bit of bright color by Gagliardini — a Moor- 
ish scene; and the other, by Lhermitte, "Harvesters at Rest," showing 
peasants in the field. The only other picture that Philip marked upon his 
catalogue was a group of children in an arm-chair, by G. Dubufe, yf/y. 

Speaking of Philip's catalogue, it is well to say that he bought two. 
The first was so arranged that after walking through one room with it he 
returned, and paid three times as much for the second. The more expen- 
sive catalogue numbered the pictures as they were hung upon the walls, 
and he could find each picture at once — a matter worth considering when 
he knew he could not see a third of the rooms in each of which were many 
masterpieces. 




1;m\- w 1 rn A DOVE. 

Carving in ivory by Asahi Hatsu. 



Entering another gallery, Philip drew a line of approval against "A 
First Proof," by Mathey — a printer examining the first impression from 
a plate; a similar line was awarded to "The Struggle for Life " — a marine 
showing a long line of men trying to draw a fishing-boat through the surf 
to safety. Others he marked were a soft evening effect by Zuber, and, in 
the next gallery, "The Virgin's Thread," that lovely painting by Lucas, 
where the birds are pulling at the thread while the virgin is sleeping in 
her chair beside the wheel. A picture of a boar at bay, while the hounds 



134 HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 

snarl, and whine but hesitate to come to close quarters, and a "Strike " pic- 
ture, also compelled him to halt and to enter. 

But he felt as AH Baba must have felt in the treasure-cavern — dazzled, 
longing to take all he could, but hurried and ill at ease. It is easy for 
an arm-chair philosopher to advise patience and coolness; to say, "Select a 
little, and see it thoroughly " ; but to be a visitor at the greatest of World's 
Fairs is quite another matter, and in the Art Galleries you can never tell 
what you are losing. 

They issued in Chicago several useful little handbooks to the Fair. 
"The Time-Saver," '^The Nutshell Guide," "Gems of the Fair," "What to 
See and How to Find It," were some of them, and by reading these one 
could be fairly sure of not overlooking many "best" things in the trade 
exhibits. But in the Art Galleries such books can be of little use. The 
pictures Philip looked at pleased him for various reasons. Some were by 
consummate colorists; some told a pleasing tale; some preached a little 
sermon; some were amusing, and others played upon deeper chords. 
Now, as to these no two boys or men would feel just alike; and you can 
no more let another pick out your pictures than you can let a stranger 
order your meals. 

As Philip was standing in one of the galleries an old man said slyly: 

"No awards here." 

"Is that so?" asked Philip in surprise. 

"Yes," said the old man; "the French found the Germans were beating 
them, and so they quit!" And the old man disappeared in the crowd, 
chuckling to himself, and seeming to take more interest in this bit of gossip 
than in the pictures. 

Philip went on through two rooms containing pastels and water-colors ; 
he meant to skip them entirely. It was not that he undervalued these 
mediums, but he felt he had to draw the line somewhere (as in the 
old story of the man who did n't invite his parents to his wedding) ; and the 
oil-paintings were more numerous. 

But he was compelled to look at three pictures by Boutet-de-Monvel be- 
cause they were just what he liked, at one by Maurice Eliot, and at some 
hunting-dogs resting by a river, painted by Oliver de Penne. He made up 
for this pause by skipping two large collections of miniatures, etchings, and 
medals, and began to go around the room known as " Gallery 45." 

Here he found two pictures that have caused much controversy — one 
showing the Crucifixion as upon Montmartre, Paris, and the other represent- 
ing Christ as sitting at table in a modern drawing-room. 

Philip did n't pretend to say whether there was a great moral lesson con- 




lAKL MAKi-;. 




THE MOTHER. PAINTED BY ALICE D. KELLOGG. 



PHILIP AT THE ART GALLERIES 



^i7 



veyed by this strange device ; but he felt that the pictures were as un- 
pleasant as they were powerful ; and that of the Crucifixion was certainly 
full of intense feeling rendered by the hand of a master. 

But it is useless to quote from the catalogue as Philip marked it; for him- 
self the markings were useful, and helped him to fix his attention upon cer- 
tain pictures ; but unless all of the pictures are at hand, comparison and 
comment can have little value. 

As the boy went through the galleries, he felt a strong sense of gratitude 
to the hundreds of skilful, keen-sighted men who had 
studied nature and mankind until they could show him 
in an instant's glance just how things were and are the 
whole world around. 

From the French exhibit he passed to that of American 
artists; and again he found reason to be proud of his 
young country. Perhaps it was as well that the French 
and American exhibits were distinctly labeled, for there 
was not such a difference as there might have been. 
But if America showed that she had taken lessons abroad, 
she at least gave her teachers no reason to be ashamed ; 
and here and there was seen a touch of true individuality 
promising a distinction and a difference in the future. 

Julian Story's painting of "Mile, de Sombreuil" and 
Carl Marr's great "Flagellants" were two history-lessons which no boy could 
forget; and the second of these artists, in another painting where bits of 
real sunshine come flickerino^ through a screen of green leaves, showed that 
he could paint pictures, even without telling historical incidents. Philip went 
close to this picture to see just how that shining sunshine was done ; but 
he was surprised to find nothing to explain the brightness of those shining 
spots except a little dull ocher paint gradually lightening to white. 

After he had seen, in the next room, Douglas Volk's " Puritan Girl " 
and Hovenden's " Breaking Home Ties," he became a little depressed ; but 
was cheered up by Toby Rosenthal's comedy, "A Dancing-Lesson of our 
Grandmother's." 

When he went outside to sit upon the steps for a moment's rest, he 
began to understand Sir Isaac Newton's simile about picking up a few shells 
on the shore ; for he saw that he had been several hours in the Art Build- 
ing, and had seen hastily only a part of one wing of the great storehouse. 
He hurried back, rushed blindly through several rooms, and tried to take a 
small piece out of Great Britain's display. Again he was caught here and 
drawn there by the magic brush of one artist after another, and had to con- 




A FELLOW-CRITIC. 



^ 




THE GRANDMOTHER OF THE SWEDISH ARTIST ZORN.l 

From the original carving in birch-wood {six inches high) by Zorn. 

1 With regard to the Uttle bust of his grandmother, carved in birch-wood, Mr. Zorn says: " I have painted my grandmother a great 
many times, and the pictures have always been sold, so I made this little carving as something to keep. From beginning to end it was 
carved from nature and with carvers' tools. My grandmother," he adds, *'is very picturesque"; but this we do not need to be told, nor 
that there were probably other reasons why her grandson wished to have a portrait of her ; nor again, that this bust probably is a portrait 
in the fullest, exactest sense of the word. It is a delightful thing in subject as in execution. Every detail of the sweet, strong old peasant 
face is lovingly rendered, and yet one thinks most not of details or even of features, but of the soul behind them. — " T/ie Ccfitury " for 
A ugnst, iSgs. 



138 



THE "SANTA MARIA " UNDER SAIL I39 

fess that he must raise the siege and hope for another day. He walked 
down the steps with a sense of injury and loss, which remained with him 
until the outdoor air and the breeze from the lake had restored his eood 
humor. 

He concluded to walk home, and made his way to the path that ran along 
the lake-shore. Philip found his muscles a little sore, and seeing a vacant 
bench, sat down upon it. In a few moments he saw a group of young men 
pointing out upon the lake. He looked in the direction they indicated, and 
to his amazement made out the " Santa Maria " under full sail and as in- 
dependent as any steamer of them all. Philip felt as if he might be an 
Indian viewing the first coming of the caravel, and wished sincerely that he 
were aboard, so that he might shut his eyes and imagine he heard that 
first cry, " Land ! Land ! " 

He was delighted with the chance that had brought him the sight of the 
caravel at sea, and wondered what nabob of the Fair was cruising about as 
if he were Christopher Columbus himself 

Resuming his walk, he went through one or two of the buildings in order 
to get out of the sun (which beat down quite fiercely, considering how late 
in the year it was). In the Liberal Arts Building it seemed that only frail 
pieces of plate-glass protected the rich treasures of gold and silver arranged 
in the jewelers' show-windows, and Harry wondered whether a modern Dick 
Turpin, or Blackbeard the Pirate, could not, by dash and nerve, succeed in 
carrying away enough plunder to support him forever after in some reputable 
line of business. The pirate, he thought, would have the better chance ; for 
he might rush to the shore, where his trusty crew were awaiting him in the 
long-boat, be rowed to his stealthy black vessel, hoist sail, and away with 
all that Tiffany and the Gorham Company had left out of their safes ! 

Then what a scurrying to and fro ! Sailors and soldiers, losing their 
presence of mind, would dash up to the conning-tower of the battle-ship 
" Illinois" and press the dummy electric buttons, wondering why the engineer 
did n't get up all steam and put on full speed at once. Others would leap 
into the " Viking " and start to row with the long sweeps, forgetting that 
there were only shields aboard. 

Philip was amused at this odd fancy, and resolved to ask Harry to make 
a sketch of the pursuit. Meanwhile he made his way home, keeping in the 
porticos Avhere it was shady, and avoiding the clayey mud left by the 
previous day's rain. 

"I 'd rather," he told Harry that night, "miss some of the regular 
exhibits, if I 've got to take the Fair in samples ; when it comes to missing 
pictures, you never know what you 've lost." 



140 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



The next morning Mr. Douglass, who was reading the " Chicago 
Tribune," burst out laughing. "Philip," said he, "here is part of an ac- 
count of the cruise of the 'Santa Maria' — the cruise upon which you saw 
her." And, interrupted by the boys' occasional chuckles, he read aloud 
as follows : 

The old caravel stood out on the waves, queer-looking as compared with modem craft, but 
full of grace and beauty. When the big square sail was first spread, it took the wind nicely, 
rounded the pier, and sailed off to the northwest in splendid style. 

But when the passengers wanted to turn the caravel there was trouble. Had they continued 
in a straight line to Michigan all would have been well, but they knew not how to sail the " Santa 
Maria." The craft wobbled. The choppy waves tossed it. Though it had braved storms on 
the Atlantic, it trembled, and its sails became disorganized by the turbulence of the white-topped 
waves of Lake Michigan. 

" It will not sail close to the wind," said a passenger who claimed to have been out on the 
lake before. 

" Better slow her up," suggested passenger Millet; " we 're headed for the Forty-third street 
reef." 

" Who ever heard of a reef on a street ? " petulantly returned Sailing-master Hunt. 

On flew the caravel until the cheeks of the passengers turned pale, and they pleaded with 
the captain to turn it about. Its huge hulk was finally swerved just as it scraped the reef. 
Away it shot again out northwest, more unruly than before. 

An hour or so went by. The " Santa Maria " still sped on toward the Michigan fruit-fields. 
The passengers became hungry. They wanted to go home. A turn about of the caravel was 
finally made. It shot away toward the Van Buren street pier. 

" Land her ! " " Land her ! " " Ground her ! " cried the passengers. 

With care the caravel was brought up near enough to the pier to let off" the passengers, and 
the craft was anchored for the night. 

Then Mr. Armour said to Millet : " No wonder Columbus discovered America." 

" Why ? " inquired the latter. 

" Because a man could discover anything in such a craft as the ' Santa Maria.' There 's 
no telling what direction it would carry him. The discovery of America was a 'scratch.'" 



\^ 




CHAPTER XI 

Going after Letters — The Agricultural Building — Machinery Hall — 
Lunch at the Hotel — Harrys Proposal — Buffalo Bill's Great Show. 




^ On Saturday, Philip had heard that 

■ ^=^^ ^ . - ,, — - tor nve dollars he could secure per- 



^SPStiBll/' mission to use his kodak for a week, and by 
'^^j^l^ -^^-iHI^F ^^ '~ going to the office of the official photographer 
J^ on that day and paying the necessary amount, he was able to 
dismiss from his mind any anxiety about carrying his camera. 
So on Monday the two boys and Mr. Douglass entered the 
grounds, fully equipped with note-book, sketch-book, and camera. 
Hitherto Philip had been asked but once to exhibit the li- 
cense, but this time he was challenged by one of the ticket-takers, who 
shouted to another, " Hi, Jack, here 's a kodak ! " But, as it turned out, 
neither ticket-taker cared to examine the card, and Philip merely waved 
it, saying, " It 's all right." 

The day was too rainy to risk taking snap-shots, and Philip carried the 
camera during the forenoon only, and was glad to leave it behind at the 
hotel when he returned to lunch. 

They had down on the list for this day a trip to Chicago ; but had asked 
to have the date of their tickets for the coach changed when they saw the 
sky was gloomy and overcast. Instead of going into the city, therefore, 
they resolved to give their morning to the Agricultural and the Ma- 
chinery Buildings. They walked first to the Manufactures Building to 
get letters, and took a launch back again. While waiting for the boat they 
had some conversation with the man at the landing, and were surprised to 
learn that each of the launches cost more than three thousand dollars — the 
high price being paid mainly for the machinery. 



THE AGRICULTURAL BUILDING I43 

Landing at the Agricultural Building, they were glad to escape the rain 
— a thunderstorm — by entering at the main door. The exhibits seemed to 
be arranged according to nationalities, the first one they came upon being 
that of Porto Rico ; and the boys were really surprised, upon exploring their 
minds, to find out how little they knew about Porto Rico. Mr. Douglass 
knew a little more : he told them it was an island — one of the Greater 
Antilles — and belonged to Spain ; but there he came to a sudden stop, and 
directed the boys' attention to a miniature fort in which bottles of wine 
served as guns. Having to that extent improved their knowledge of Porto 
Rico, they moved on a few steps, and seemed to have walked into a cigar-box. 
The odor was explained when they saw before them Cuba's display, which 
was not unlike that of a prosperous tobacconist. British Guiana did not 
repel them, though a woman cried out, " Oh, alligators and snakes ! " as she 
turned hastily away. She was followed by two more of the less timid sort, 
one of whom said resolutely, " Come in. I want to see this alligator. I 
never saw one in my life " ; to which her companion replied, "Well, gaze on 
him ; there he is ! " 

"You might think, boys," said Mr. Douglass, as the boys smiled at this 
dialogue, " that such people got no good from coming to the Fair. But I 
think such a conclusion would be a mistake. The foolish chatter we hear 
has little to do with what people are really thinking. They cannot help 
picking up clearer ideas of the world and its inhabitants as they go through 
these buildings. Where one sees fruits and grains, it means that this or the 
other country has orchards and farms. We thus get rid of many a foolish 
mental picture. We cease to imagine that all the Chinese are continually 
flying kites- and smoking opium, or that all Spaniards are eternally strum- 
ming guitars in the sunshine. You may not think you have such foolish 
ideas, but you will probably find yourself entertaining notions quite as 
absurd. I only say this because we hear so much trivial chatter that you 
might be misled by it." 

"Well, Mr. Douglass," Harry answered, " I have seen plenty of men, and 
women too, who are taking the Fair almost too seriously. And even the 
most foolish must find a great deal that makes him think. I know I do. 
Now, for instance, look at that figure" ; and Harry pointed to the model of 
a neo-ro workman that made part of the exhibit labeled " British Guiana." 

" I saw him," said Mr. Douglass, " and I noticed how his leather sandals 
have absurd twirls and coils of leather thongs about them. The rest of his 
dress is very ordinary." 

"Those are just what I mean," said Harry. " I said to myself, at first 
glance, that those twisted rolls of leather were silly ornaments, and showed 



144 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



If '^'i^^ 




that the man was a savage in civi- 
Hzed clothes. Then I wondered whe- 
ther they had n't some use, and — " 

" I see," said Mr. Douglass, in- 
terrupting. 

" Well, I don't," Philip declared. 

" Suppose he should break a san- 
dal-string," said Harry, eagerly ; 
"don't you understand that he could 
just untwist one of those coils, just 
as a violin-player unwinds a little 
more of his E string?" 

" Yes, of course," Philip said ; 
" and that is the most convenient 
way for him to carry the strings." 

" I have little doubt that the coils 
came from that necessity for mend- 
ing," Mr. Douglass remarked; "but 
probably the dandies exaggerated 
the coils. This idea of yours, Harry, 
reminds me of an article by Reming- 
ton, the artist. Itwas written to show 
that good sense dictated the whole 
costume of the Western cowboy. I 
kept it, and will show it to you." 

Liberia displayed various native 
products, and fine works in metal 
and straw and leather, but the party 
did not see anything to warrant a 
long stay ; Mexico had so arranged 
her exhibits that they reminded one 
of a grocery kept by a neat but eccen- 
tric grocer ; but wherever the flag of 
Japan was displayed, the boys never 
oTudcfed time for examination. That 
artistic little nation can always teach 
a lesson to natives of the young 
Occident. Even in their display of 
food-stuffs, the boys found the pickle- 
jars, sake-kegs, and some boxes 



THE AGRICULTURAL BUILDING 



145 




worth looking at. In fact, Harry was so pleased with these artistic gro- 
ceries that his sketch-book came out at once. The pickle-jar was covered 

with white paper draped in graceful lines and 
tied down with a twisted purple cord and tas- 
sels ! The sake-keg and the box also showed 
the same wish to please the eye and satisfy the 
needs of each article ; and as for some larger jars, 
they were dressed as richly as a ball-room belle. 
They left the domains of the white flag and red 

disk with some instruction in the art of "framing" groceries. 
Whenever the party first entered 

one of the exhibition buildings, they 

examined the earlier booths somewhat 

carefull)^ ; but a sense of losing time 

soon made them hurry on. So it was 

then. They walked on by many a 

fine arrangement of food-products — 

notably those of the Western grain - 

producing States. They admired the 

taste and skill that had utilized glass 

tubes full of grains as columns, and 

corn on the cob as a building material. 

Mr. Douglass said that much foolish 

criticism -had been evoked by these 

booths, but that a sisrht of the struc- 

tures themselves called for approval 

rather than fault-finding. They par- 
ticularly admired the displays of W^is- 

consin, Nebraska, Iowa, and Ohio, in 

which both the general effect and the 

bits of color decoration showed good 

taste and much constructive skill. 

■' I should n't be surprised," said 

Harry, "to come upon a Greek temple 

built exclusively of old shoes." 

Here they were stopped by a bit 

of fun. A bright-faced young woman 

was throwing little tin forks out among 

the crowd ; these tin forks advertised a brand of sardines, and were made in 

the shape of a little fish, the tail reaching to the tines of the fork. Picking 




ONE OF THE PANELS {"SUM.MER"') IN THE I ORTICO 

OF THE AGRICULTURAL BUILDING. PAINTED BY 

GEORGE W. MAVNARD. 




GREAT CENTRAL PORCH OF AGRICULTURAL BUILDING. 



up the forks, the boys naturally went to see the exhibit, and were invited 
to take a sardine, free, from an open box. They declined, but others were 
not so lucky. One old man eagerly plunged his fork into the box only 
to discover that the fish were painted tin. He fled into the crowd while 
the bystanders laughed at him. This device certainly attracted plenty of 
attention, but whether it was wise was doubtful. 

They finished the aisle they were in, and crossed to another, which they 
walked down, having gone up the first. 

In the Greek exhibit they saw some tobacco labeled as from Ther- 
mopylae, which at the moment seemed incongruous ; but reflection showed 
that Thermopylse must be something beside a battle-field. Louisiana had 
built herself an Egyptian temple of sugar-cane, and again Harry made a 
sketch, for he found the effect very pleasing. Passing a number of other 
booths, they at last came to the agricultural implements, and found that 
there was more to know than shovel, spade, and hoe, or even plow and 
harrow. They frankly confessed ignorance of the mechanism and purpose 
of most of the nickel-plated apparatus, and concluded that in their present 
state of ignorance time spent here would be wasted. They did smile, how- 
ever, at seeing a harvesting-machine labeled: "The judges ordered this 



X46 



THE AGRICULTURAL BUILDING 



147 



harvester to be tried in a field of standing grain. It is a little disfigured, 
but still in the ring." 

A sign revealing the location of the "Sandwich Manufacturing Co." 
somehow reminded them that they must see something of Machinery Hall 
before lunch, and they started toward that building, passing on their way a 
"prairie-breaking plow" — a rude but enormous implement that had been 
used with a team of six or eight oxen in first turning up the new Western 
soil. 

As they were coming out, they paused, even in the rain, to admire the 
fine proportions of the Agricultural Building ; its dignified portico, the fine 
groups and single statues that adorned its principal features, — such as Mar- 
tiny's "Abundance," for example, and the signs of the zodiac, and the 
great corridors that unite Agricultural and Machinery Halls. 

Upon entering Machinery Hall, and finding that they could not give any- 
thing like adequate time to it, they went at once to the gallery and waited 
for the traveling-crane. There are 
three of these, each originally used for 
putting in place the heavy exhibits ; 
they run upon great girders supported 
from the floor upon uprights similar 
to those upholding an elevated rail- 
road. Moved by electricity, they trav- 
erse the whole length of the buildinsf 
and then return, carrying passengers 
twenty or thirty feet above the crowded 
floors and at an excellent height to 
permit of overlooking the show. 

They had to wait a little while, but 
soon the great floating beam of iron 
came against the edge of the gallery, 
almost as lightly as a bit of thistle- 
down, and they entered at one end and 
sat down upon chairs ranged along 
the front edge. The crane carried 
them to the other end and back again for ten cents, and without effort they 
had at least a glance at all the exhibits in that part of the Hall — thus ob- 
taining, no doubt, a better idea of what there was in the building than could 
have been secured in a long walk below. 

In order to show how bewildering were the displays, here is a list that 
Philip made while waiting for the crane to move. It shows only what he 




PORTICO OF THE AGRICULTURAL BUILDING. 



148 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



could easily make out from the extreme end of the hall. There were ma- 
chines relating to hot baths, candy, lubrication, ice-cream, smokeless fur- 
naces, rock-drills, galvanizing, window-washing, and baking. 

They found the ride cooling and breezy, and saw enough to greatly 
interest them on all parts of the floor. The enormous printing-presses were 
especially " impressive," as Harry put it, and one press was printing colored 
illustrations of the World's Fair buildings. Besides, they noticed many 
looms, sewing-machines, a spool-cotton exhibit, dyeing works, glove-making- 




THE CONNECTING SCREEN OF CORRIDORS BETWEEN THE MACHINERY AND AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS. 



and washing-machines — each something novel or interesting. They at- 
tempted to see all they could, and keep eyes and brains active ; but Harry 
said it reminded him of the small darkey who "slipped back two steps for 
every one he took forward " ; for they missed two exhibits by pausing to 
examine any one. They had meant to take a ride upon the other crane ; 
but when they saw there Avere three, they agreed, as usual, to be content 
with a half- seen show, and departed from the grounds, going back to their 
hotel for lunch. 

The dining-room, so crowded at breakfast- and dinner-time, was almost 
deserted at noon ; and they found they could talk over their plans with 
perfect freedom. 

Mr. Douglass and Philip made several proposals: the Art Galleries; 
another visit to Machinery Hall ; more State buildings ; the Anthropological 
Building — an inexhaustible resource. But Harry shook his head at each 
suggestion, until at last Philip said: 

" It 's plain that you have a plan of your own, and I 've a good mind to 
veto it anyway. What is it ? " 



HARRY S PROPOSAL 



149 



gone 



" I have wasted my time very patiently with you 
this morning," Harry said gravely, "because I sup 
pose we ought to ' do ' the Fair. But I remember 
that the English poet said, ' The. correct thing for 
man to study is man.' See? Now, we have been 
looking at staff and iron and steel and corn and 
wheat and bottles and strings and other precious 
mietals all these hours. I have 
through it, though the buzzing and rat- 
tling and thumping and worrying were 
decidedly unpleasant. Now I want to 
study man. There is near this hotel, 
I have learned by careful study of bill 
posters' literature, a gentleman who was a member 
of the legislature, etc., etc., — but \vho is known 
among us boys by the name of Bison William." 

" I have heard of him," said Mr. Douglass, 
with a grave face. 

"Who has not?" said Harry, enthusiastically. 
" He is now conducting an educational exhibit 
near here, where one may see various nations at their sports and pastimes. 
And, gentlemen of the jury, what I say is : Let the machinery whirl, and 
let us devote ourselves to the Wild West Show. What do you say ? " 

"I 'd like to go," said Philip; "but I wish it was a better day for 
taking pictures." 

" I 'm willing," said Mr. Douglass. " I saw the show .some years ago in 
New York, and it was well worth seeing. I am not sure that a whole day 
of systematic sight-seeing at the Fair is not a little too much when one is 
busy at it for a week or two at a time. Where is it ? " 




KIGLKE IN WINDOW-FHAME OF 
MACHINERY HALL. 




""V JUi^"^^Ttr,n ti I t <^ 



fe^LTiMifc^' 



MACHINERY HALL. 




A SUGGESTION OF THE "WILD WEST," 

Remington's Famous Picture, "A Bucking Bronco.' 



THE WILD WEST SHOW 



151 




AN ABORIGINAL. 



"Just around the corner," Harry answered. "And Phinney says it is 
twice as good as it used to be." 

A short wallv from the hotel brought them to the grounds, a great square 
open space around wliich were seats like those upon base-ball grounds. 
They bought tickets for the grand stand, and gazed expectant upon a sea of 
mud. The sign said " Rain or Shine," and rain it was : no drizzle, but a pelt- 
ing downpour that roared upon the roofs overhead. 
Boys walked to and fro, one crying, "Sour crystal- 
lized lemonade-drops — souvenir in every pack- 
age," and the other, " Peanuts ! — are five cents ! " 

The rain plashed in the puddles upon the 
arena, and the boys were not sorry ; it was a new 
sensation to see a performance in the rain. A 
band played loud enough to be heard nearly to 
the Rocky Mountains, a man in a very broad- 
brimmed felt hat mounted a rostrum imitating a 
boulder, put on a rubber coat, and, when the band 
was hushed, began a speech at the top of his 
lungs, — so loud that he had n't breath for more 
than a word or two at a time. He said, "Ladies — 
and — gentlemen: — From time — to — time, I shall ■ 
ture — of the — display," and so on. One seldom hears so forcible an oration. 

He announced one by one the bands of Indians, their chiefs, the white 
men, their captains or leaders, and each of the items upon the program. 
But his shouts can be omitted with the assurance that he did his level best. 
One example will be enough. 

" The Arapahoes ! " 

A gate is unbarred, yells break through, and helter-skelter come a troop 
of almost naked savages painted and bedecked, riding their ponies at a run. 
They draw up before the grand stand. 

" Their chief! " 

A single Indian comes flying across the field lashing his running pony, 
and draws up before his band. 

Then, in order, come other tribes until a motley, bright-colored rank of 
mounted warriors are ranged all along- the front of the field. Then French 
cavalry ride in with similar heralding, except that the color-bearer is an- 
nounced separately and the band plays the Marseillaise. German lancers 
follow to the tune of " Die Wacht am Rhine," and after them, Mexicans, 
American cowboys, British Lancers, and Cossacks perched on high saddles. 
The Indians are holding their shields above their heads to protect them- 



announce — the na- 



152 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



selves from the rain. Now Arabs come, and two women riders ; an old 
guide, gray-bearded and dressed in fringed buckskins ; United States cav- 
alrymen, riding upon gray horses ; and at last, cheered even more than the 
Stars and Stripes, there gallops to the head of that great array an honor- 
able gentleman, of whom Harry remarks : "That is Biffalo Bull himself — 
and a fine-looking man he is ! " 

At a signal from the scout the whole cavalcade springs into life and rapid 
motion. The plain is dotted with horsemen dressed in gay uniforms ; and 
just then the sun breaks out to brighten the scene, and a rainbow is seen 
above the right-hand portion of the grounds as the riders follow one another 
out. It was certainly a brilliant and cheerful pageant. 

A well-known markswoman runs over the liquid mud, making swimming 
motions with her arms, and taking up a gun breaks clay pigeons and glass 
balls as fast as they can be supplied by the attendants. Fancy shooting 
follows, and, making a miss, the woman walks around the table where the 
guns are resting. This whimsical performance makes the people laugh. 

Several usual features follow. A race between riders of different nations ; 
the "pony express," an exhibition of rapid shifting from one horse to an- 
other; an emigrant-train attacked by Indians, but saved by the blank car- 
tridges of the Hon. Mr. Cody and his rough-riding friends ; and then come 
Syrians and Arabians in wonderful feats of balancing, 
juggling, and pyramid-grouping. In this last act one of the 
men supported nine others in the air — a weight of perhaps 
twelve hundred pounds. 

"And yet," Harry remarked, "some men find it hard to 
support a small family." 

Always interesting, the thick mud made the show funny 
as well. It was hard for men and horses to secure a foot- 
hold: Syrian acrobats stopped to wash their muddy hands 
in almost equally muddy water ; some of the fierce horses 
were compelled to drop almost into a walk instead of run- 
ning madly across the arena ; when a marksman wished to 
lie down in order to shoot from that position, it required 
careful search to find firm ground for his blanket ; the men who built them- 
selves into pyramids bedaubed one another until their dresses were mud- 
color instead of crimson ; and all through the long, delightful program the 
sticky mud took a prominent part in amusing the spectators. 

When " Old John Nelson" rode up near where the boys sat, and deliv- 
ered the mail from the old original Deadwood coach, he hurled it off with 
the regulation speech, " Here 's the Deadwood mail," and then added, 




THE WILD WEST SHOW 



153 




winking to Harry, "A little damp, too; but never mind!" The same ge- 
nial old guide, who was lying lazily across the coach roof, raised himself 
coolly as the scouts cried, " Indians! Indians!" and again grinning at the 
boys, remarked in a low tone, "Going to be Indians, eh? 
Then I '11 get up!" 

This by- play delighted the boys ; but best of all was 
"Custer's Last Charge." 

First came the Indians, and encamped far away across the 
plain. A scout followed; discovered them with plenty of ges- 
tures to let the audience into the secret ; reconnoitered them 
over the imitation rock; rode off to tell "Custer" and his 
staff — mainly buglers — of the great find; brought back the Hi 
general, who gazed meaningly at the red villains through J^ 
a warlike nio-ht-Q-lass, and then all the white men retired 
for reinforcements. 

Coming back, the cavalrymen charged fiercely on the 
Indians, fired off several dollars' worth of gunpowder, and 
disappeared behind a curtain. Mournful music indicated 
the terrible fate of the cavalrymen. 

During the whole afternoon the boys sat beside a boy 
from Chicago who told them many particulars about the show and the 
riders. He said he had seen the performance four or five times, but seemed 
nevertheless to enjoy it. Harry learned that the young Chicagoan some- 
times came to New York city, and gave the boy his address, inviting him 
to call. 

It began to rain again as they went home, but it was only a short dis- 
tance to the hotel, and they went straight to that goal in spite of a most 
pressing invitation to "Take supper here now for twenty-five cents, and go 
home by the light of the moon ! " 

Harry was rather silent on the way home, but showed the course of his 
thoughts by remarking : "I think perhaps I will give up being anything 
too civilized ; I 'm going to ask my father to buy me a ranch far out West." 

" I wonder," said Mr. Douglass, "whether the young Indians who come 
to the Fair with the Indian schools ever go to see the Wild West Show? " 



- j\Cn_n_t^ 



A COW B0\ 




A CHICAGO STREET. 




FORT DEARBORN. (CHICAGO, 1804-1816.) 



CHAPTER XII 



The Tally-ho — How it dashed along — The Parks along the Lake — 
Chicago — The Auditorium and other Sky-dwellers — The Whaleback. 



Ox Tuesday morning the party hurried through 
their breakfast in order to catch the tally-ho which 
was to pause in its mad career to pick up pas- 
sengers from their hotel. Although it was a cloudy 
morning, threatening rain, they did not like to 
postpone this trip again. Consequently ten o'clock, 
the hour set, beheld them " all asfoof to dash 
through thick and thin " like John Gilpin. 

Presently something drew up at the door. 
It was not what would be called by the critical 
a tally-ho. It was not e^■en a coach. It was on 
wheels, it had seats here and there, and four ani- 
mals dragged it. Baron Munchausen once had 
his horse cut close off by the fall of a portcullis. 
If the same accident had befallen a tally-ho, and 
it had been then spliced to the end of a park 
wagon, the resulting vehicle would have been not unlike the wagon which 
presented itself at the door. 

"Is this it?" asked Mr. Douglass, dubiously presenting his ticket. 
"This," said the man (he was hardly yet a voter), " is it. Yes, sir. The 
tally-ho, sir." 

"Well," remarked Mr. Douglass, turning to the boys, " what do you say?" 
"We'd better go," said Harry. "It 's all arranged; and the wagon 
looks comfortable anyway. Don't you say so, Phil ? " 

"Yes," said Philip. "It's no tally-ho, but I don't know as that makes 
any great difference. It has wheels, and — horses," after a pause. 




MEMORIAL BUILDING, ON THE SITE WHERE 
THE GREAT FIRE STARTED. 



156 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



Having taken outside seats, they climbed up on the wheel-hub and two 
steps, and were soon perched some ten feet above the ground ready to start. 
Just as they settled themselves in their places, a policeman came to the curb 
and spoke warningly to the driver, who said, " I can't help it," and gathered 
up the reins. 

Mr. Douglass, who was not used to fast riding, made up his mind that 
their lofty seat might be a risky place to sit, and was gratified to find a stout 




DRIVEWAYS OF THE GRAND BOULEVARD. 

rail at the back of the seat, which afforded an excellent place to hold on. 
Harry, too, concluded that they would soon be tearing at breakneck speed 
through the crowded streets of the city, and began to think he had been 
unjust to the " tally-ho." 

"We 're off!" said Philip, as the horses heaved at the traces and the 
"wagon changed its place leisurely. At a slow walk they drew the wagon 
around the corner and stopped at another hotel. A man who seemed to be 
in charge alighted and entered the door. That was the last seen of him for a 
considerable period. Queries to the driver were smiled away. They waited 
and waited. Nothing happened. After their patience was gone, the miss- 
ing- man came back, and the coach floated on. 

" Now we 're started ! " said Mr. Douglass, with an expression of relief 
But the coach rounded a corner in a leisurely manner, and drew up at 
another hotel. Again the man disappeared, and the waiting was repeated. 

"This is not a tally-ho," said Harry, "it is a tarry-whoa " ; and so it 
proved. Even after the man was again at hand, the old coach went no 
faster than the slowest of jog-trots. And at the same dolorous gait they 



loitered along on 
Woodlawn Ave- 
nue, a straight 
street beautifully 
paved, and 
fit to be 
a blessing 
to bicyclers. 
They were 
as long in 



jjMT.OLireCEMt'TKHY. 





•A 

GHACELAHn CEMETERY. 
'% DlVEBSEY Ave 



Pabks&Boplevabds. 

wobids coujhbian ex. 
CityLimits. 



. ijrSmiDiioiiijj'ABD. 

"^' tl^BU-MER S(gI&iE . 




HmiBOLDT Park.. S WickerFark 

. - 4? ^^ 

- CENTRUBXHKBI.II I ^ ^ 

" ^.'i^'ESTjAcksON ST.n[F7 „ „„ g 

: ' ^^ 




-i\ 



GagePariu 



given point as was pos- 
sible. Every vehicle 
went by them except 
children's carriages with 
nurses; wagons of heavy 
iron-castings, dirt-carts, 
street-cars — until one 
man remarked jocosely 
that he was afraid a fu- 
neral might come up be- 
hind and run over them. 

Then Harry remem- 
bered the policeman who 
spoke to the driver just 
as they were starting, 
and a light dawned upon 
that mystery. 

" You remember that 
' cop ' who talked to our 
driver? " he asked Philip. 

"Yes," said Philip; 
he was warning him against reckless 
driving." 

" So did I," said Harry, laughing. " But 
I 'm sure now that he was saying a word for 
the poor horses. Why, those Fifth Avenue 
stage-horses they make such fun of in New 
York are Arabian coursers compared to these ! 
See them creep ! " 



MAP SHOWING 
THE PARK 
SYSTEM OF 
CHICAGO. 



Gahheld Boulevmd 
WishikgtonParkClub zn 

- OakwoodsCemetj 



I thousfht 






I w ON STATE STREET, LOOKING NORTHW \RD FROM MADISO^ STREET. 



They passed some gray stone buildings on tKe \yay to the business part 
of the city, and the driver said they were the Chicago University — a state- 
ment they accepted at the time, but doubted when they became better 
acquainted with the driver's acquirements as a guide. Another great es- 
tabhshment they saw was an old field crowded with tents and labeled 
" Camp Jackson." A sign upon its rainbow-tinted fence informed the 
public that board in that field and under those tents was two dollars a week 
and thirty-five cents a day. 

"It 's a comfort," said Harry, "to reflect that all these places, rough as 
they are, mean to offer Fair accommodations." 

At another time this weak pun would not have been noticed, but upon 
that weary, slow ride anything was a relief: when the horses stopped to 
drink, it was an event ; when a new passenger got on (one did), the ex- 
citement was intense. But nothing hastened the wagon. It meant to get 
to Chicago if it took all day ; and after awhile they did begin to see 
buildings more closely set, and then they entered a beautiful park. The 

driver said it was Washington Park, and on consulting a map afterward, 

158 



CHICAGO 



159 



the boys made up their minds that he had guessed right — there were 
some things the driver knew. 

The park was flat as a board, as is all the country for miles around ; but 
as the ground was mainly given up to beautiful green lawns extending as far 
as one could see, the effect was excellent, and marred only by some very 
florid designs laid out in colored plants. One of these designs formed a 
sun-dial, called "Sol's Clock"; another showed a few bars of "Hail Columbia." 

Even Mr. Douglass had now given up his visions of dashing along to 
the sound of a "yard of brass," and so far from being at all nervous, would 
not have been afraid to 
stand upright in any part 
of the coach. He kept 
thinking of a parody upon 
Shakspere's description of 
the school-boy : "A tarry- 
Avhoa, creeping like snail, 
unwillingly to Chicago." 

By this time they were 





THE CITY HALL, CHICAGO. 

in Michigan Avenue, — a 
thoroughfare with beautiful 
grass plots along the street, 
but houses that did not 
please an architect who 
was also on top of the 
coach. He declared all 
but a few of the houses to 
be fussy and tiresome ; and 
the boys noticed that those he commended were plain and simple in their 
outlines, and little decorated. 

At Twenty-second Street, they saw the Chicago street-cars, and found 
that they ran in trains of three coupled together, an arrangement of which 
they heartily approved. As they passed a baker's cart, a small boy leaned 
out and whipped the horses of their coach ; whereupon several of the pas- 
sengers thanked him warmly, even though his efforts produced no result. 
Still, in time they did reach the city, and recognized the lofty Auditorium, an 



THE POST-OFFICE. 
(From photographic prints. By permission of C. Ropp & Sons, Chicago. ) 



i6o 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 




HOUSE OF JOHN KINZIE, THE FIRST WHITE SETTLER. 



enormous pile of stone, so many stories high that the boys lost count in at- 
tempting to reckon them. Soon after they admired the Art Institute, "a 
broad and low building of impressive design." They also saw the founda- 
tions being laid for another great building, and remembered having read in 
St Nicholas that these heavy structures could be supported only upon 

artificial foundations, such as long piles 
driven deep into the soft ground. The 
Masonic Temple was also seen as they 
passed through the busy part of the city. 
There was a smoky smell in the air, 
and their first impression was of being 
down-town in Broadway, New York, 
when a great fire was raging, filling 
the air with smoke. Possibly the smoke 
was worse than usual, for rain was falling 
at intervals and the air was heavy. 
None of them talked much, for the slow drive was anything but enliven- 
ing. They went along Lake Street for some time, and then wandered on 
until they drew up at the Waterworks. Here, despite the protests of the 
passengers, there was a halt of five minutes, and some got out and went in 
to see the machinery. When all were on board again, the scenery slowly 
changed, and they found out that they were in motion once more. But as 
they had reached the Lake Drive, — a beautiful boulevard, and one of the 
system of drives that encircles the city, connecting Chicago's great parks 
into a ring of pleasure-grounds, — the slow driving was not so irritating. 
They saw Mr. Potter Palmer's castellated mansion fronting the lake, and 
passing other fine dwellings, reached Lincoln Park. 

Against the sky, in silhouette, appeared the statue of General Grant, an 
impressive feature of the park, and they were sorry that their route did not 
bring them within view of the even finer Lincoln statue, of which they had 
seen many pictures. Looking forward along the drive, they saw a dark point 
of land along the horizon beyond the lake, and were told, by the rather taci- 
turn driver that it was the city of Milwaukee, which information surprised 
them quite as much as if he had said it was Bagdad. " Traveling certainly 
makes one modest," said Mr. Douglass, who doubted the driver's statement. 
" I had no thought of seeing Milwaukee upon this drive." 

Another statue of a man in an old-style curled wig was seen, and the 
driver told them it was Linn. Even the tutor had never heard of Linn, and 
all remained puzzled until a turn in the road showed the inscription "Linne," 
whereupon they recognized Linnaeus. Though they hated to lose the in- 




THE AUDITOKICM. 
MICHIGAN AVENUE AND CONGRESS STREET. 

(From a photograph by J. W. Taylor.) 




THE ART INSTITUTE. 
MICHIGAN AVENUE. 

(From a photographic print. By permission 
of C. Ropp S: Sons, Chicago.) 




THE WOMAN S TEMPLE. 
LA SALLE AND MONROE STREETS. 

(From a photograph by J. W. Taylor.) 




MASONIC TEMPLE. 
ST.\TE AND R.'\NDOLPH STREETS. 

(From a photographic print. By permission of 
C. Ropp & Sons, Chicago. 1 




THE LAKE-SHORE DRIVE. 



valuable information the driver was giving them in homeopathic doses, they 
were glad when the coach worked its way to the front of a park restaurant, 
and announcement was made that there would be a halt of an hour or more 
for lunch. 

"Mr. Douglass," said Philip, "I don't know how you feel, but my feet are 
as cold as ice, and I 'd rather get off and walk." 

"Oh, let 's walk!" Harry chimed in. "I 'd rather ride in a canal-boat 
than to stay in this old coach any more." 

" So would I," said Mr. Douglass. " I consider this ride a regular 
swindle. See here!" he went on, turning to the driver's accomplice, — a 
young man who rode inside, — "what is the matter with this conveyance? 
We 've crept all the way out. Are you going any faster ? " 

" No, sir," answered the young man, turning State's evidence and re- 
vealing the whole secret; "the fact is, those horses — look at 'em! — are all 
played out. They 've been going over this road for months, and they 're 
played out." 

"We have had enough of it," said the tutor, a little sharply, "and we '11 
walk." 



CHICAGO 



163 



" I don't blame you," the young man answered, as if he would have liked 
to join them. 

Leaving the park, they inquired how to get back into the business cen- 
ter of the city, and were told to take the cable-cars. These proved to differ 
in some ways from New York cars, and one feature seemed worthy to be 




/ V - 

VIEW ON MICHIGAN AVENUE, CHICAGO. 



■copied. At the ends of each car the side seats ceased, leaving a clear floor 
all across the car near the door, so that those who were compelled to stand 
should not obstruct the middle aisle at the doorway. 

" That 's a good idea," Philip remarked, as he pointed out the arrange- 
ment to Harry; "for I 've often noticed how people are sure to stand right 
in the doorway, blocking up the passage." 

When they were near the end of their trip, the cars ran underground 
through a whitewashed tunnel, and the boys made up their minds that they 
\vere either running under the river or under the railway-tracks. 

" It 's about time for lunch," said l\Ir. Douglass, looking at his watch ; 
and turning to a young man beside him, he asked where there was a good 
lunch-room. The young man recommended one, and they felt grateful to 
him afterward. It was a large establishment, containing several kinds of 
lunch-rooms. They went into the " business man's lunch-room," and had an 
-excellently cooked meal at a fair price. 



164 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



Until it was time to take the steamer, they wandered about the city look- 
ing at the more notable buildings and enjoying the sensation of being in a 
strange place. The great wholesale stores were like those in parts of New 
York, but New York had nothing just like some of the lofty buildings of more 
than twenty stories. Harry said that if there were two or three streets like 
Broadway and running across one another, or if Broadway were cut off in 

sections and laid 
criss-cross, the re- 
sult would resem- 
ble Chicago. They 
saw the Auditori- 
um again, and the 
Chamber of Com- 
merce building, as 
well as some others; 
but the rain was 
unpropitious to 
sight-seeing, and 
they soon deter- 
mined to make 
their way toward 
the ''Whaleback" 
steamer. Of course 
they went wrong at 
first, for Chicago 
is a puzzling place 
to strangers, and 
Harry had to ask 
a big policeman 
for directions. He 
was hardly old 
enough yet to have 
lost his awe of 
"cops," and felt 
relieved when the 
officer showed himself courteous and oblis^inCT. From what he had read 
of Chicago distances, Harry would not have been surprised to have 
been told he must "go fifteen miles south, then take a cable-car four 
miles west " ; but their destination proved to be not so very far away. 
Another cable-car rattled them down to Van Buren Street, and they 




THE ROOKERY. 



THE BOARD OF TRADE BUILDING. 




A STREET BRIDGE ACROSS THE CHICAGO RIVER, SWUNG OPEN FOR THE PASSAGE OF BOATS. 

found themselves, after a short walk, upon the dock awaiting the iron ves- 
sel so aptly named "Whaleback." 

The boys were struck with her likeness, as she came close along the dock, 
to some of the dug out canoes they had seen at the great Fair. They learned, 
however, from their friend the architect (whom they met again on the pier) 
that the boat was seaworthy, carried a large cargo, and was very fast, going 
even twenty-two miles an hour. 

Going aboard, they found her divided into three decks, and very finely 
fitted up. The second deck, which was even with the top of the hull, had 
walks along the curved sides of the vessel ; for these " tumbled home " so as 
to be almost level. 

In the cabin, Harry found a phonograph which was advertised to sing 
his favorite " The Cat Came Back " ; and he persuaded Mr. Douglass to try 
it. The tutor's face, as the song began, lost its usual quiet expression, and 
soon he grinned quite as broadly as the small boy Harry had sketched at the 
Fair. Then the boys paid another five cents, and listened to a lively song 
called, " Drill, ye tarriers, drill " — wherein were introduced sounds of blast- 
ing, the singing, the orders of the boss, and all the features of work upon a 
railway e.xcavation. 

But they wasted only a few minutes in the cabin, for the view of Chicago, 
as the boat steamed out, was well worth seeing. A few rays of sunshine 
struggled luridly through the heavy pall of dusky smokfe that drifted over 
the city. Here and there great buildings or towers rose above the rest, but 



1 66 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



the whole effect was soft and hazy. It was a picture of the city that was 
sure to remain lonof connected in their minds with the name Chicasfo. 

The trip was not a long one, but Harry found time to pick up acquain- 
tance with a young man from Indiana, and the two were soon pronouncing 




FISHING FOR PERCH FROM THE BREAKWATER, CHICAGO. 



words for each other's amusement. He found Harry's slighting of the letter 
R very droll, and told the New York boy that his mother had an aunt who 
was "a regular Yankee," and said, "Why, I could listen to her talking all 
day ; it does sound so queer ! " Harry found the Indianian's accent quite as 
strange, and said it reminded him of peculiarities he had noticed in the 
speech of Virginians. 

As they approached the long pier that extended out from the Fair 
Grounds, Philip began to be uneasy. 

"What 's the row, Phil?" Harry asked, noticing that his friend was 
frowning rather fiercely; "are you sorry to get back?" 

"The matter is this camera. I 've got to take it through the grounds," 
Philip replied. 

" I thought you had a permit for a week," said Harry. 

"So I have," replied Philip ruefully; "but it is at the hotel. I took the 



CHICAGO 



167 



camera along this morning, hoping that the weather would clear up so I 
could take something in the city ; and I 've been lugging it about all day 
without getting anything to speak of. Now here I am with no way to get 
to the hotel except by going through the Fair, and I have n't got a permit." 

" Whew ! " Harry whistled. " Two dollars out ! " 

But when Mr. Douglass came up, he was inclined to think there would 
be no trouble about the camera. 

'■ I '11 tell you what I should do," he said. "Just walk along boldly, and 
if any one stops you, tell them the circumstances and then face the music." 




THE GREAT FIRE AT CHICAGO, OCTOBER, 1871. 



Just as Philip was going through the gate, one of the ticket-takers said, 
" Say, is that a kodak ? " 

" Yes," said Philip, " it is." 

" Have you a permit for it? " 

" Yes," said Philip, "but it 's at my hotel. It 's good for a week, but I 
did n't bring it to-day" ; and he went on to explain just how matters stood, 
offering to do whatever was right. "But," he said, "I '11 tell you one thing — 
I don't want to pay two dollars just to carry this camera through the grounds 
on a cloudy day at five o'clock." 

" I should think not ! " said the man, laughing good-humoredly. " I '11 



1 68 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 




THE WHALEBACl^. UPPER DECK. 



find the inspector and see what he says " ; and he walked out along the 

dock. In a few moments he came back saying, " It 's all right ; take it in. 

The inspector says he could n't 
let you if it was n't after four 
o'clock. You won't try for any 
pictures ? " 

" No," said Philip, much 
relieved ; and away he went, 
feeling that honesty was the 
best policy. 

Walking^ through the Court 
of Honor just at dusk, they 
were ao-ain delighted with the 
appearance of the buildings in 
the soft evening light. The 
Peristyle was especially artistic, 
for they saw through the col- 
umns the heavy, curling black 
smoke of the " Whaleback," as 

she set out on her return trip to the city. The gilt decorations upon grace- 
ful Machinery Hall shone brightly, and they had to stop and gaze around 

them with renewed delight. 

"Perhaps it is just as well 

that these buildings are not to 

be permanent," Mr. Douglass 

remarked, as they walked on. 

" We like them all the better for 

knowing that they are, after all, 

mere bubbles of staff, blown to 

delight the eyes for a little while. 

The architect whom we met on 

the coach said to me, 'Somebody 

hit the nail on the head when 

he called these Fair buildings 

an architectural spree — it has 

been a bit of fun for the archi- 
tects to show in plaster what 

they could do in marble ; but 

why can't some of our cities make a similar smaller show in marble- 

an ornamental building like this Peristyle, around a harbor?'" 




THE WHALEBACK. LOWER DECK. 



-say 



CHICAGO 



169 



When they asked for the keys of their rooms, Mr. Douglass received 
also a letter. " Ah ! " he said, " here 's the letter from your father, Harry. 
Come up into my room and we will read it." The letter was as follows: 

September 21, 1893. 

Dear Mr. Douglass: When I telegraphed this morning, I was afraid you would think it 
strange unless I promised a letter. But now I sit down to write, I feel there is little to add to 
my despatch. I know Mr. Farwell will arrange business details, and that you will get safely to 
the Fair. I am sure you will know that I do not expect you to feed the boys on useful knowledge 
all the while you are in Chicago ; but I should like Harry to look carefully after two things. I 
would like him to see the railroad exhibits, and to see the papers about Columbus. The latter is 
important, because there will never be so good a collection brought together again. The railroad 
exhibits I should like him to see, because I wish him to learn what an amount of skill and learning 
has gone into the modern railroad. Perhaps then the business will attract him, and I shall expect 
him to take it up when I must resign. As for Philip, he '11 learn more about the Fair by himself 
than any one can teach him. 

I think perhaps a fortnight should be enough to spend at Chicago ; but as to that, use your 
own discretion. I hope that all three of you will enjoy the big show, and I 'm sure you will be 
better Americans for having seen it. 

Tell Harry that his mother and I are well, and give him our love. With warmest regards to 
Philip and best wishes for you all, I am your obedient servant, Henry Blake. 

Mr. James Douglass. 

"That 's just what I thought," said Harry. " He wishes me to get into 
railroading, and that is one reason he sent me here. I see one thing ; I have 
got to go through the Convent again. I hardly looked at those old documents." 

"We have a few days yet," said Mr. Douglass; "we will certainly go 
more carefully over those exhibits. I am glad to hear from your father, 
though I know his ideas well enough to have been very sure of his inten- 
tion. I have still plenty of money, but I think that two weeks will be 
enough to give to the Exhibition. One could not exhaust it in years." 




THE WHALEBACK. 



CHAPTER XIII 




Philip's Day — Visits the Photographic Dark-room — The Fisheries Build- 
ing — The Aquaria — Fishing Methods — The Government Building — 
The Japaitese Tea-house. 

g ^%?- ■ Wednesday Philip had set apart on his schedule 

_ for the Fisheries Building, intending to spend any 
spare time at some less important places near by. 
He had already found that it was well to save him- 
self what bodily fatigue he could, and so he took a 
rolling-chair almost as soon as he entered the grounds, 
from a conical tent not far from the Pennsylvania Railroad exhibit. The 
man who pushed the chair told Philip he was from Finland ; and a few 
attempts to converse with him were so fruitless that Philip gave up trying. 

He went first to the photographic room where he had left a roll of pic- 
tures to be developed. Then, after making the usual morning call for 
letters, he went on to the appointed building. On the way, the Finland 
guide woke up enough to show some interest in photography, asking Philip, 
"Do you take in colors the pictures yet?" Philip in reply gave a short 
account of the state of (what is called) color- photography, and the Finland 
guide was probably more muddled than ever. 

Philip had once or twice stepped into the Fisheries Building before, but 
so far had never been in the east wing, where the aquaria were situated ; so 
he selected this part as a beginning. As usual, he had brought his camera, 
and right at the entrance he found a good subject — a young man who was 
perched upon one side of the steps. Philip "took" him, and then set him- 
self to studying the decorations of the outside of the portico. 

The pillars supporting the arched doorway had in relief upon them forms 
of aquatic life, modeled life-size or larger, and arranged in geometrical 



172 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



frogs 



arranged 



in 



patterns. For instance, one pillar was covered with 

diaofonal lines crossing: one another so as to form diamonds. Others in the 

same doorway showed turtles, snakes and lily-leaves, newts and crabs. 

Philip also saw that all of the ornamental work about the building was 
composed in the same way. He thought it amusing in a temporary build- 
ing, but felt sure his friend the architect whom they met on the Whaleback 
would never have approved of the decorations if applied in equal profusion 
to a permanent building. 

Inside the aquarium wing he found a circular corridor both side walls 
of which were made up of tanks lilled either with salt or fresh water. To 
keep this water fresh and wholesome for the fish, spurts of water shot down 
through the surface from above, making a silvery fountain upside down at 
the top of each tank. There were no windows in the corridor, all the light 
coming through the water from the top of the tanks. This arrangement 
made that part of the building rather gloomy, but enabled the people to see 
the fish under the best possible conditions. 

The people seemed to enjoy the show very much, and had none of that 
bored air with which they walked around some exhibits in other buildings. 
Each aquarium was like a show-case, and the light playing upon the moving 
fish caused them to glitter and shine. Philip heard one girl exclaim as she 
entered, " Um — um! How lovely! "and wondered for the hundredth time 
at the queer adjectives girls apply to what pleases them. 

The building was jammed full. Judging from photographs he had seen, 
Philip was sure that in the earlier days of the Exposition there was a better 

opportunity for examining exhibits. Now, 
everywhere he went, there were such 
throngs of people that he found it difficult 
to use his note-book. Every time he en- 
tered a building, he found his camera a 
burden and a trouble ; but no sooner 
was he out arain than he was o^lad he 
had brought it with him. 

Here he had to fall into line if he 
wished to make any progress at all. 
People would gaze upon some slab-sided, 
pop-eyed fish until they entirely forgot 
they were keeping others away. Then 
the crowd would move forward with the 
gentle force of a glacier, and progress would begin again. 

The first tanks Philip saw held various sorts of bass, sturgeon, trout, and 




CAPITAL IN FISHERIES BUILDING. 



THE TANKS OF FISH 



^73 



pike. It was a strange sensation to see the fish so near, and so confined 
that they could not dart away. It gave one the idea that swimming in the 




SKELETON OF A WHALE. 



sea was not so very different from flying in the air, except that a bird has to 
keep moving or descend, whereas the fish can stop where he pleases, and 
hang suspended as comfortably as Mahomet in his coffin, or more so. 

Other fish he saw were the sheepshead, who had the true sheepish 
expression ; catfish, with their odd sparse whiskers ; some strangers labeled 
"small-mouthed buffaloes" (Philip wondered how it would sound to go into 
a restaurant and order "a fried small-mouthed buffalo, please, for one"); 
something that was written down in 
his note-book as " red-horse " — but 
what the creatures were like, and 
what their true names mieht be, Phi- 
lip had no recollection at all when 
he read over his notes. There were, 
though, some whose names did re- 
call exactly their appearance, — the 
"short-nosed gars," for instance, 
who had particularly long noses. 

The tank of goldfish was really "lovely," for as one approached them 
the light shone upon them as brilliantly as if they had been sunset clouds. 
One visitor was so impressed with this fine display that he remarked with 
more feeling than logic, " It is wonderful what human flesh can do when 




FLVING-FISH. 



174 HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 

they put their heads together ! " PhiHp laughed at this, and after having 
had his elbow joggled four or five times, succeeded in writing it down so 
that he hoped he could tell Harry about it. 



A fishing-boat: group in government building. 
The nearer fisherman has woolen rings upon his hands to protect them from the line. 

Harry and Mr. Douglass were at the other end of the grounds ; for 
Harry, in view of his father's letter, felt that he ought to go through the 
little convent, and Mr. Douglass found that end of the Fair full of interest. 

It was oppressively warm in the Fisheries Building, and Philip, often 
over-prudent, had carried his overcoat with him. He had heard so much 
before coming to Chicago of the "cold breezes from the lake," that he 
hardly dared to enter the grounds without some protection. At first the coat 
was light enough, but as time went on it seemed that each moment dropped 
a leaden bullet into one of the pockets, and his arms ached though he 
changed the burden continually from one to the other. His camera he 
made use of as a desk, fastening his note-book to the top of it by putting a 
rubber band around one end, but the coat became a great nuisance before 
the tour was finished. 

In one tank he saw a queer turtle whose flippers were so broad that they 
reminded Philip of four fans on the ends of a frog's "arms" and legs. The 



SALT-WATER FISH 



175 



sand-pike, the golden ide ("A queer way to spell it!" said an old lady), and 
the Missouri catfish occupied more tanks, and claimed Philip's attention in 
their order. The last tank of the outside row was filled with minnows, — 
such as boys call "shiners," — and reminded him of a big bait-box. 

Then came salt-water fish, and the change in the color and clearness of 
the water was very noticeable. It was much harder to see the fish, and when 
they scooted off to the other side of the tank, they were lost to view. The 
lobsters had a sort of pile of rocks to which they clung fast, and the crabs also 
seemed disinclined to move about. When he came to a tank labeled "sea- 




RtODEL OF A GROUP OF INDIAN METAL-WORKERS, IN THE GOVERNMENT BUILDING. 



robins," it was some time before Philip could see why the queer little fish 
were so called. At last, when one came near, he noticed a red spot beside 
its head, and concluded that this accounted for the name. One of the odd- 
est specimens he saw was called the "paddle-fish." It had a long flat nose 
extending out flat forward — probably it was used by the fish as a sort of 
shovel to stir up the sandy or muddy ground where its food was found. 

Philip wondered what the fish thought of their queer situation. Instead 
of having the whole ocean to roam through, they found themselves in narrow 
quarters around which great animals with staring eyes pressed continually. 



176 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



They did not seem at all frightened, and had probably given up their situation 
as a problem the solution of which was not meant for them to know. At 
least they must have found some satisfaction in the absence of the enemies 




MODEL OF AN INDIAN WARRIOR '. GOVERNMENT BUILDING. 



who usually chased them about without regard for Sundays or holidays. 
Philip, who was of a speculative turn of mind, wondered how it would seem 
to men if lions and tigers might at any moment come around the corner to 
devour them. He hoped that the fish were less sensitive, or he was sure 
their lives in the ocean would be so unbearable that they would commit 
suicide by leaping out on shore. 

'' Them 's catfish." 

" Oh, no, they ain't." 

" 1 tell you, they be." 

" Wal, I guess not." 

" Wal, I guess yes." 

" Oh, you go 'way ; I guess I know ! " 



THE SHARK AND REMORAS 



177 



The scientific discussion given above had proceeded no further when a 
cooler-headed member of the party pointed with a peace- making finger to 
the label, which read "Catfish," as plain as print. Hoping that these visitors' 
knowledge of fishes had been improved by this litde difference of opinion, 
Philip found that he had exhausted the contents of the outer corridor, and 
went into the middle, where he found a rockwork fountain surrounded by a 
pool full of other fish. He went around the tanks seen from the middle of 
the building with the same care he had given to those outside, and found 
plenty to pay him for the trouble. 

In one compartment were several sharks, and affixed to one of the 
sharks were two of those fishes called "remoras," who have upon their heads 
a sort of sucker that can be used to hold them to any smooth surface. 




MODEL OF A GROUP OF ZUNIS : GOVERNMENT !',l.[l DIN< ;. 



Philip remembered reading that the ancients thought these fish could stop 
even a large galley. He had always regarded the statement as a wild yarn 
ot antique romancers, but he was glad to see just how the remora applied 
himself to his vocation. The shark was unable to get at his unwelcome 
guests, and there were two of them, each more than half as long as his host. 



178 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



Philip said to himself that it was a shame, and then he happened to think 
that it was not necessary to be very sorry for sharks — which are not a kindly 
race. What the remora had to gain by this attachment he could n't exactly 




ARMY WAGONS, WAR DEPARTMENT, GOVERNMENT BUILDING. 



see, unless it was mere transportation from place to place. Possibly the 
shark would leave something of every meal, and then the remoras would 
dine at the second table. It was as if a banker should have two professional 
beggars sit upon his shoulders, and pick up the odd change that he did n't 
look sharply after. 

The next remarkable fish that attracted his eye — or rather, repelled it — 
was the file-fish. This creature, if it was the file-fish, had a strong family 
resemblance to an unequally cooked and lumpy buckwheat cake, and was 
hardly thicker. It was an animated pancake swimming edge up. But what 
interested Philip was its method of propulsion. Along its back ran a fin for 
nearly the fish's whole length, and this fin waved in a curving line like the 
path of a serpent. Philip had heard Harry wonder why ships were not pro- 
pelled by some such device, and he resolved to tell his cousin that Nature 
was ahead of him in using that means of going through the water. 

Then Philip walked along the curving corridor with ornamented columns 



THE MAIN BUILDING 



179 



that led to the main building. Just as he entered this part of the central 
hall, he saw a clever bit of advertising. It was headed, " They say it 's hot 
in Southern California," and below was a statement of the daily temperature 
contrasted with that of Chicago. For that day the California temperature 
was 67° as contrasted with Chicago's 'J2>°- 




GUNS, TOKPEDOES, AND FLAGS I GOVERNMENT BUILDING. 



Philip did not find this main building as interesting as the aquarium part. 
There were many models of fish, but they seemed very tame after the live 
ones. In the Netherlands exhibit (as, indeed, in most of them) was a model 
fishing-boat, but Philip did not know enough entirely to comprehend the 
purpose of the different devices shown, so he gave them only a glance. The 
exhibits of nets were likewise of small interest to him, though a fisherman 
would, no doubt, have been long entangled in their meshes. 

The red disk on a white field that again marked the Japanese show 
promised him more entertainment, and he entered the inclosure. Here he 
found several fine little models, the most novel being that displaying the 
method of fishing with cormorants. A little boat full of fishermen was upon 
the painted waves, and in the bow was a torch made of an iron basket 
wherein flamed some material that had been soaked in oil. In the model 




AN OLD-FASHIONED MAIL-COACH : GOVERNMENT BUILDING. 

i8o 




' FURTHEST NORTH : GOVERNMENT BUILDING. 



this was represented by dyed wool. Each fisherman held in his hand a cord 
fastened to a ring fixed tightly around a bird's neck. The birds were swim- 
ming about and diving for fish. When a fish was caught, the bird was 
hauled in, deprived of his prey, and sent out to try again. 

There were in cases different kinds of fish-hooks, twisted and turned into 
all European shapes, besides some eccentric ones of their own, spoons and 
other devices for trolling, snells and lines, not very different from those used 
in America and Europe. Their sail-boats differed, however, from ours in 
the way the sails were made. Instead of being in one piece, the sails were 
in perpendicular strips fastened together by a network of cords so as to 
leave open spaces. 

Philip saw a young Japanese (he looked young, but may have been 
fifty) who was eating lunch in a corner of the room, and asked him the 
reason of this arrangement. "To hold wind less," he said; but the 
American boy was not quite satisfied, for he could not see why a smaller sail 
would not meet the same need. He thought it more likely that the sails 
were so made in order to stow away more easily. The Japanese boy saw 
nothing queer in the boats, but Philip's camera was to him a great wonder, 
and he politely asked an explanation of its working. This Philip gave, and 



l82 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



took the little Jap's picture in the course of his lecture on cameras. He 
also gave the foreigner a memorandum of the name and price of the camera, 
whereupon courteous Japan presented a catalogue of the exhibit and a 
business card. 

In the main hall the State of Washington had hung an enormous 
"humpbacked whale" skeleton nearly forty-eight feet long, and showed the 
jaws of another as a gateway to its inclosure. Norway showed great 




THE BIG TREE I GOVERNMENT BUILDING. 



harpoons and guns to project them. Baltimore, Ireland (a critical passer-by 
said, "How very Irish to have a Baltimore in Ireland!"), showed a model 
fishing-school, a set of tiny buildings with little dolls at work making nets. 
The dolls' idiotic faces took away all likeness of the exhibit to nature ; and 
Philip, just from the tiny Japanese fishermen, so perfectly modeled, thought 
the difference spoke strongly in proof of the artistic sense of Japan. 

Philip examined the models of German fishing-craft, and was particu- 
larly curious to know about a small boat moored to a tiny tree, one of three 
trunks below the surface of the water. He consulted the label, and found 



PHILIP S CONCLUSION 



i8- 



out that this was a " Miesniuschelziicht in der Kieler Buchty' and with that 
information written down carefully he departed, satisfied to wait until he had 
more time and a German dictionary. 




ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT, UNITED STATES ARMY. 



More netting exhibits — "strings and things" — did not long delay 
Philip, who- had caught sight of the space covered with green cloth where 
Gloucester, Massachusetts, had arranged her boats and buildings so that one 
could understand how they contributed to the comfort of mankind and them- 
selves. A lobster-packing house had made the same attempt to inform the 
world just how the poor lobster came to be caught, canned, and sent to 
table ; but here some cheap dolls again marred the effect of the well- 
made apparatus. 

North Carolina showed a "rush camp," a round hut of rushes in which 
had been put the proper fittings to show what accommodations their fisher- 
men made for themselves. Mexico had a display that may have been worth 
seeing, but Philip noticed the fence only, which was a clever bit of work. 
As he left the Fisheries Building, he felt that, like the others, its display 
was too good and too full to be appreciated by any but experts — for whom, 
probably, it was especially prepared. 




I\IAIL-SLEDGE AND DOGS ; GOVERNMENT BUILDING. 



He felt sure that every man or boy who went to the Fair saw some de- 
vice or method that he would either adopt or improve in his own work. 
With a people so quick of apprehension and so inventive as Americans, the 
benefits arising from the World's Fair must be beyond exaggeration. 

After leaving the Fisheries, Philip made up his mind to give the Govern- 
ment Building a good two hours of his day. He had passed through it 
several times, but he had never examined thoroughly the guns and wax 
Indians and mail-wagons which seemed especially provided for the delight 
of boys. Now he was glad that he had saved up the pleasure. 

The Government Building was as crowded as the Fisheries had been, 
but Philip pressed slowly along, catching sight first of a fishing-boat and the 
figures of two men in it arranging their shad-nets. The Patent-office ex- 
hibit, which he had promised himself much joy in looking over, he found 
almost too confusing, as had Harry before him. So he passed quickly 
through this section and reached the exhibit of the Post-ofifice Department, 
where one could see at a glance every possible way of carrying the mail, 
from an old stao-e-coach to the latest mail-car. 

The Smithsonian Institution and the Ordnance Department of the 
United States Army exhibited what Philip felt were really just the most 



THE JAPANESE TEA-HOUSE 



185 



interesting things he had seen in the whole Fair. The groups of wax In- 
dians, the great guns, the army-wagons, and the dog-sledges were sur- 
rounded by groups of delighted people of all ages. 

Then Philip decided that he would go to the Japanese tea-house, taking 
in the beautiful model Japanese house on the Wooded Island. He found the 
model house, but it took him fully twenty minutes to find the tea-house, 
with four consultations of his map ; and while seeking it he saw the Brazilian 
Building for the first time, although he must have passed it again and again. 
This will give some idea of the size of the Fair, for that building is 140 feet 
high, 148 feet long, and of equal width. 

In the Japanese tea-house Philip sat upon a wicker stool, and received a 
cup of "ceremonial tea," a half-pound of the tea, a wafer, some sweetmeats, 
a souvenir, and elaborate courtesy. He also received a ticket entitling him to 
enter the tea-houses where the cheaper tea was served. After a long rest 
within this pretty inclosure, Philip took the electric launch to the southern 
part of the park, where he wandered about, taking an occasional snap-shot, 
until he felt his legs would no longer submit to be imposed upon. He went 
home very weary; but he was getting used to that. 




THE JAPANESE HOUSE OF THE PHCENIX ON THE WOODED ISLAND. 




PORTRAIT OF COLUMBUS, BY LORENZO LOTTO, I512. 

In the Convent of La Rabida. Lent by James W. Ellsworth. 



186 



CHAPTER XIV 

The Convent of la Rdbida — Old Books and Charts — Paintings — A For- 
tunate Glijnpse of the ''Santa Maria" — Portraits of Columbus — The 
Cliff- Dwellers — Cheap Souvenirs — World's Fairs in General. 




As has been said, Harry and Mr. Douglass set out 
for the Convent of Santa Maria de la Rabida, which 
means " Blessed Mary of the Frontier," according to 
the wise men who write guide-books. Appropriately 
built upon a point of land, it was surrounded by green 
turf to the shore, where pointed rocks made an irregular 



w 



all. Even to 



one commg 



AN ANCIENT CARAVEL. 



throusfh the Court of 
Honor — an architectural display unequaled — the quiet 
little convent presented an aspect of quaint simplicity 
that was full of dignified repose. Its plain walls and low- 
pitched roof were relieved only by two features that broke the sky-line, a 
tower and a belfry. Probably its designers thought little or nothing of 
architectural beauty, and had attained their object when they had made an 
inclosed court surrounded by small rooms, with one or two large enough 
for a refectory and chapel. 

Entering a narrow doorway at the back, Mr. Douglass and Harry found 
themselves in a large hall, which was no doubt the chapel of the original 
building. To their right was the place where the altar had stood, but in 
the model this inclosure contained pictures on the walls. They were very old, 
no doubt ; but when a Columbian guard told an inquirer that they were 
"more than a thousand years, I guess," Mr. Douglass and Harry concluded 
that the guard's uniform was no guaranty of his knowledge. 

In the front of this chancel was an easel sustaining a frame that protected 
the commission authorizing Christopher Columbus to go and see what he 

could find. A. placard requested "gentlemen to remove their hats," as 

187 




//^///>/ r 





THE ORIGINAL CONVENT OF LA eAbIDA, IN SPAIN. 



li^N% 



Philip had said but the American 
pubhc had made up its mind to 
disregard this inscription. Mr. 
Douglass said to Harry, in a low 
tone, ' I can see no reason for 
removing one's hat to a piece of 
paper with ink on it. One can 
show a proper respect and appre- 
ciation for a relic without flunkeyism." And Harry quite agreed with him. 
The commission was a bit of brown parchment written in a crabbed 
hand, probably by some court copyist ; and not even the signatures were in- 
telligible. Moving onward through the crush of people, they came next to 
the. west wall, where there was a glass case containing the rarest ancient 
treatises upon geographical matters. There were twenty or thirty in the 
case, some ornamented with woodcuts ; but though Harry had come with 
the best of intentions to study the exhibits carefully, he could do nothing but 
gaze wonderingly at the type, saying to himself, "This is an old, old book. 
Columbus may have read it. Here 's another. What a queer picture! " At 
length he said to Mr. Douglass : 

"What do you make of them, Mr. Douglass?" 

"Very little, I must confess," said the tutor. "One has to read such 
books to learn how much wheat there is amid the chaff of fable, folly, and 



guesswork. 



Even if I could read all the langruas^es, I could get little from the 



THE CONVENT OF LA RABIDA 



189 



two pages which are all they can show. All you can do now, Harry, is to 
get a good idea of what these old books and charts are like. Perhaps we 
can buy a catalogue which will give us translations of some parts of the 
books and of the letters that are also shown here." 

"What can one learn from these old books?" asked Harry. "Surely 
there is nothing in them that we don't know about." 

"No, of course there is n't," said the tutor. "We can only take an inter- 
est in them as showing the beginning of events that have resulted so won- 




THE CONVENT OF LA rAbIDA AT THE FAIR. 



derfully. It is also true that now and then we find a sentence throwing 
light upon how men did things in old times. But it is rather as a matter of 
curiosity than of learning that these relics are studied." 

Upon the west wall was a very large painting showing the "Landing." 
It represented Columbus, just after he had stepped ashore, raising his eyes 
upward in thanksgiving for his success. The men in the boat seemed to 
show curiosity and enjoyment rather than piety. The painting was not re- 
markable except that the expression upon the discoverer's face was well 
rendered. 

At the left of the picture the original anchor of the wrecked ".Santa Maria" 
leaned against the wall. Both flukes were gone. Mr. Douglass felt a little 




CELL OF THE PRIOR MAECHENA IN THE ORIGINAL CONVENT, — THE "COLUMBUS ROOM" IN THE MODEL AT THE FAIK. 



doubtful of the genuineness of this reUc, but was wilhng to be convinced. 
There seemed to be no proof that the anchor belonged to the old caravel ; 
but, on the other hand, it was found where her anchor might have been, and 
it was pleasant to believe that it might be the very piece of iron upon which 
the hand of the discoverer had often rested. 

Mr. Douglass asked a young man who was selling catalogues whether 
he had n't one telling just what letters and papers were in the building ; 
but, to the tutor's disappointment, the catalogues of the old manuscripts 
were all sold. There were a number of old paintings around the walls, but 
after examining a few, Mr. Douglass advised Harry not to waste much time 
over them, as their connection with Columbus was rather remote. 

Going up the narrow stairway, they came out upon a corridor that 
looked upon the open court through graceful arches ; and from this corridor 
opened small square rooms — originally the monks' cells. The doors were as 
plain as possible, and each had a latch lifted by a string coming out through 
a hole in the door ; the windows were small and square, embrasured, or 
sunk, into the thick walls. 



THE CONVENT OF LA RABIDA 



191 



Various relics were hung at every point, 
either along the corridor or in the cells. Many 
of them were queer drawings or paintings, 
meant to show the manners and customs of 
the Indians ; others were charts and maps, 
some earlier than Columbus and others later. 

At one place Harry suddenly stopped and 
pointed delightedly out of the little window. 

" See ! " he cried. " Is n't that just right ? " 

Mr. Douglass turned, and gazing through 
the little opening saw the "Santa Maria" 
lying near the wharf opposite. 

" It makes one feel as if he were back four 
hundred years," said the tutor, quite as much 
delighted with this fortunate view as Harry 
was. " Looking through this little window, we 
see nothing of the crowd, and are all alone with 
the convent and the caravel." 

They were most interested in the " Colum- 
bus Room," which occupied the place of the 
cell where lodged the monk who became inter- 
ested in the man with a theory. There were 
dozens of portraits of Columbus, and they cer- 
tainly gave one plenty of choice. Broad-faced, 
narrow-faced, round, oval, bearded, or smooth, 
the great discoverer might well have been 
puzzled to. know which was his likeness. 
People's remarks were droll enough. 

One young woman who had been critically 
scrutinizing the array of " Columbuses, various,'.' 
finally stopped delightedly before a large por- 
trait and exclaimed : 

" Oh [ — that 's more hke him ! " 

Harry longed to ask how she knew that, 
but concluded it would get him into trouble. 
Harry himself had no choice. He felt just as 
another critical visitor did. This was a young 
man in a broad felt hat, who sailed around the 
room, and left with the parting remark : 

" There is n't one of them that looks alike ! " 



--W 



.'Am 



M 



>wBf5WS?^ ' 



t&i 



li 



_ Jr. I, „:* H '. 



'^ 



-ttl 






s'i o^ 



<tp. 



HOUSE IN GENOA SAID TO BE THE BIRTH- 
PLACE OF COLUMBUS. 



192 HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 

Mr. Douglass and Harry spent a long morning in the convent, but Harry 
wearied of it. He tried to be interested, for he wished to please his father ; 
but he could n't find anything to take hold of in making a beginning. Still, 
by sitting quietly in the rooms and corridors, the boy, without realizing it, 
carried away a perfectly clear idea of the old convent, its arrangement, how 
Columbus must have been lodged and entertained, what the old documents 
were like, and how much modern maps differed from the rude charts of the 
Middle Ages. 

He told Mr. Douglass that he could n't make much of it ; but the tutor 
consoled him. 

"You never know how much you have learned until long after you 've 
studied and gone past a subject," said Mr. Douglass. " Some day you '11 
read more about this old building and its documents, and then you '11 find a 
peg to hang the knowledge upon. Have you ever seen a negro minstrel try 
to hansf his hat on a wall where there is no hook ? " 

Harry laughed, and said he had. 

" That is what people must do who have no general ideas to hang partic- 
ular bits of information upon. Now, in this case you would be surprised 
to see how much you know about Columbus compared with what you knew 
before you came to this Fair. I won't bother you now to review it ; but some 
day, when we are studying again, I '11 let you note down the facts about 
Columbus that you learned at the World's Fair." 

"Thank you," said Harry, smiling. 

" You '11 like to do it," said Mr. Douglass. " You '11 see. Now let us take 
something a little simpler. I hear that the Cliff-Dwellers exhibit is really 
good. Suppose we go over there ? " 

Harry was very glad to agree, and they walked still further southward 
past the Anthropological Hall and the Forestry Building, — a most interesting 
place, where none of them had yet been, — and came to the curious imitation 
of a great cliff which gave room to the Cliff- Dwellers museum and models. 

Here they found that there were guides to go about and explain the 
different parts of the show. They followed one of them for a while, but 
found that he talked so fast and paused so short a time in any place that 
they could hear and see little. 

Starting out upon their own account, they looked first at models built into 
the sides of the imitation rock, — for they were inside a great structure dimly 
lighted, and looking like a great cavern, — showing- that the "villages" were 
really a collection of rooms made by erecting walls from floor to roof of a 
cleft in the cliff. 

Then they went into the museum, and saw relics of the strange people 



194 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 





of whom little is known. Some believe there are no remnants of these 
Indian tribes of the Southwest. Others think the Pueblos are the same or 
a closely connected people. 

There were in the cases bits of sandals woven of cord, cloth remnants, 
some as finely woven as canvas ; bits of bones, scooped out into spoons or 
sharpened and faced for needles ; bits of straw hats, large 
stone mortars for grinding corn, the corn itself in jars and 
^^ corn-cobs, and even skeletons, skulls, and mummies in a fair 
A LAMP. state of preservation. The skulls were finely developed in 

front, but nearly all flattened at the back. The skull of a Cree Indian was 
set in the case, in order to show how much finer were the foreheads of the 
Cliff- Dwellers. Harry was especially pleased to find a little bear made 
out of pottery, — a tiny little thing that was probably a toy. He made a 
sketch of it. 

Going into another part of the cavern-like structure, they saw some 
oil-paintings of the original rocks and dwellings from which these relics 
were taken. In yet another compartment were some 
of the donkeys used by the exiDloring party, and young 
girls and children took rides upon their backs. ^^ 

Harry was standing just at the heels of one of 
these little gray beasts of burden when a gentleman of an inquiring turn 
of mind asked, " Does he kick ? " at the same time pinching the donkey 
to see. Luckily for Harry, the donkey did n't kick, or there might have 
been a new mummy added to the collection in the museum. 

Another place was set apart for full-size models 
of the houses, and it was curious to see how the 
walls surrounded a sort of fireplace. The Cliff- 
Dwellers apparently slept in stone bunks cut in 
the rock, for there were several of these mineral 
ijL. fffi V sofas around the walls. 

^ ^ \ ^ path here and there led up out of the in- 

terior to the surface of the imitation cliff, and many 
people went clambering up and down these strange 
highways, clinging to ropes that had been fastened along the sides.' 

Now and then the lecturing guide would come near enough to 
let Mr. Douglass and Harry hear part of his explanation. He spoke 
of the deep wells that supplied the dwellers with water ; of the narrow 
trails that made the settlements inaccessible to the hostile tribes that 
drove this people from the fertile ^plains up into these rocky forts ; of the 
lamps and the cooking-utensils : but all at such lightning-express speed 




HARRY S RESTORATION OF A CLIFF- 
DWELLER. 



THE CLIFF-DWELLERS 



195 



that Harry could find out nearly as much by examining the objects for 
himself. 

When they came out, Harry was amused to see that even the turnstile 
was made of rough logs, to be in keeping with its surroundings. 

As Mr. Douglass intended to go out to see a procession of boats in the 




THE CUFF-DWELLERS 



evening, they w-ent home early. On their way they passed the Alaskan 
totem-pole settlement, but concluded not to make their way through the 
press in order to get into the hut where souvenirs were on sale. At the 
Indian village they did succeed in making their way within doors, but found 
nothing to repay them for their trouble — merely the regular array of baskets, 
bows and arrows, and similar trifles. 

Some North African booths, kept by people of the French colonies, 
offered for sale all sorts of little trinkets in brass and silver filigree or cheap 
enamel; but in spite of the continued cry, "Sheep, sheep; everyt'ing werry 
sheep!" the party kept on toward the outlet. 

Reaching home, they found that Philip was already there. He was at the 
window, much amused over the doings of some of the nesfro waiters who, 
sitting around in the sunshine, were musically singing or talking over their 
experiences. 



196 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



Philip displayed his photographs, and Harry showed the sketches he had 
made. But the party had ceased to be very talkative over the Fair. 

"What I should like to see," said Mr. Douglass, " is a fair from which all 
the ordinary, commonplace exhibits are excluded. Cans and boxes of ordi- 
nary merchandise, even if piled up in ornamental forms, are better suited to 
an agricultural county fair than to a World's Exposition. A small, choice 
exposition, where every exhibit was unique of its kind, would be more man- 
ageable and much better worth seeing. This Chicago World's Fair has in 
it the very best material the world can produce. But it would take two 
years to see it thoroughly, and no one man could understand it then." 

"I'll tell you what I should like to see," said Harry; "and that is a 
grand procession where people of the same States should be in ranks 
together. Then we should see how they differed." 

" And my idea," added Philip, " is to have a Children's Fair, where 
everything that is interesting to boys and girls should be on exhibition. 
That would be something like ! " 




VIEW LOOKlXu S*.H I 



fS/ i«i 

• M THE TOP OF THE \voman"s BUILDING — BY MOONLIGHT. 



CHAPTER XV 

The Electricity Bitilding — Small Beginnings — A Nezv Souvenir — The 
Curiotis Exhibits — Telephones and Colored Lights — The Telautograph 
— Telegraphy — Mines and Mining — A Pjizzled Gtiard. 

" It is interesting to reflect that the beginnings of all the marvels we 
shall see in this building," said Mr. Douglass, as he walked with the tAvo 
boys toward the Electricity Building, " are found in two trifling circumstances 
that the majority of men would have overlooked. Do you remember what 
led to electrical research ? " 

" I know," said Philip, "that the word comes from the Greek for amber, 
and I suppose you mean the attraction of amber for little things was one of 
the two." 

" Yes," said Mr. Douglass. " Now what was the other? " 

" Frogs' legs," Harry answered. " I remember reading about that not 
long ago. Volta salted the frogs' legs, thinking they were too fresh ; and 
they kicked. That 's what you mean, is n't it ? " 

"Exactly," said Mr. Douglass, laughing. "And that frog-kick was the 
beginning of the impulse that laid the Atlantic cable. It was no doubt a 
great achievement to come upon a new world, as Columbus did ; but really 
Volta, who knew exactly what he was about, deserves nearly as much 
credit. So you see that by carefully noticing what takes place in his own 
home in the course of his every-day life, a man may become renowned quite 
as well as if he braves the elements in search of a new continent." 

" Do you think electricity will take the place of steam ? " asked Philip. 

"No," answered Mr. Douglass; "for, judging by the past, few really 
useful things are ever displaced. Every housekeeper still finds a need for 
candles, even where not only gas but electricity is at hand. The stage- 
coach is still built and used, though for different purposes than at first. We 
shall see to-day, in the Transportation Building, how many old inventions 
are yet on duty." 



198 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 




As they entered 
they heard a sharp 
pounding, and saw a 
crowd gathered — the 
surest sign of some- 
thing interesting — 
near a counter. Gradu- 
ally making their way 
to the front, they saw 
a siofn announcingf that 
they could have their 
own coins made into 
Fair souvenirs, and 
found upon the counter 
small scarf-pins, med- 
als, monograms, hair- 
pins, and paper-knives 
made from silver and 
nickel coins. The 
charge was only five 
cents, so Philip drew 
forth a half-dollar that 
he had been intending 
to spend on a present 
for his sister, and put- 
ting five cents with it, 
handed the coins over 
to the woman at the 
counter. 

"What would you 
like ? " she asked. 

"A hair-pin like 
that," said Philip, point- 
ing to one that had 1 893 
upon the top in open- 
work. The woman 
eave the half-dollar to 
the man at the stamp- 
ing-machine, and he 
pushed it under the 




'1 kj$^ .• 1^. '^j'^i 1 . ^ 



'fh. 



.<-<! 



>'^3. 



PORCH OF ELECTRICITY BUILDING. 



die. In a few moments Philip's coin was transformed beyond recognition, 
and came out jDroperly shaped and labeled "Columbian Exposition, 1893." 
Harry satisfied himself with a nickel rolled into an oval and also stamped. 

A little further on they saw a counter where handkerchiefs were em- 
broidered with appropriate inscriptions, also to serve as "souvenirs" — a 
word of which the party were becoming weary, as it was bawled, shouted, 
and whispered in their ears from morning until night. 

Many of the electrical exhibits were interesting only for their arrange- 
ment : there were, for instance, carbons arranged in geometrical patterns, 
and push-buttons forming letters and inscriptions. 

It was not until they had reached the southern end of the building that 
they began to think well of the electrical exhibition. But toward this end the 
attractions were most striking. There was a whirling ball of electric lights, 
hung near the ceiling, that Harry remembered noticing on the first evening. 



200 HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 

when they had so much trouble to get in and out of this building. Not far 
from this ball was a column of colored-glass lamps, from the top of which 
lines of lamps ran zigzag over the ceiling, each ending in a hanging lantern. 

This column would suddenly gleam with colored fire at the base, then 
further up, then to the top, the waves of light dying out below as they as- 
cended. Reaching the top of the column, the zigzag lines flashed out in 
wavy lightning flashes to the hanging lanterns. Then all would become 
dull, until another impulse made its tour of the line. 

Another beautiful exhibit was an Egyptian temple. The pillars were of 
roughened green glass lighted from within so as to glow like emeralds. 
The walls contained show-cases displaying electric fixtures. 

The boys had heard praises of the electrical theater situated in this 
corner of the building, and it was one of the places they had made up their 
minds to visit. But they found a line of people ranged before it, and ex- 
tending back far enough to discourage any but an electrical crank. Reluc- 
tantly they withdrew, and went instead into the Greek temple, where a tele- 
phone was in working order. A row of young girls sat upon high stools 
facing a bewildering array of pegs. Upon their heads the girls each wore 
a light frame of metal bands that held telephones to their ears. It was a 
striking illustration of the line about " lend me your ears " ; but in these 
modern days the ears are hired by the week. Every now and then one of 
the girls would lean forward and change a peg from one place to another. 

Besides the receiving instruments, a transmitter hung down just in front 
of the lips of each operator. In fact, every care was taken to enable these 
young women to hear all conversation addressed to them, and every facility 
given them to answer back. 

Harry said he thought it was just the sort of work a girl liked — nothing 
to do but to be talked to all day, with full liberty to talk back from a safe 
distance ; but Mr. Douglass said that he had heard the work was very hard 
and exhausting. 

In the gallery they found a number of amusing or astonishing novelties. 
One that Philip found attractive was an electric boot-blacking machine. In 
front of chairs like those belono-ino- to the regular " Have-a-shiners" of 
commerce, there were two brushes revolving rapidly. A man sat in the 
chair applying his well -developed foot to the brush, and receiving an elec- 
tric shine that was nearly as good as the regular article. 

Harry watched this device critically, and at length said he did n't like it. 

"Well, I do, then," Philip answered. "Would n't I like one to use 
every morning, though ? " 

" I mean that the principle is n't right," Harry insisted. " That inven- 




STATUE OF BENIAMIN FRANKLIN AT THE MAIN ENTRANCE OF THE ELECTRICITY BUILDING. 



202 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



tor is making the man twist around so as to apply his foot to the brush. 
He ought to make an electric brush that can be held in the hand and put 
against the boot. Don't you think so, Mr. Douglass? " 

"Your argument seems reasonable," said the tutor; "but it 's often wise 
to remember that the inventors have thought more about these problems 




MODEL OF A LAKE SUPERIOR COPPER-MINE: MINING BUILDING. 



than we have ; so it is not likely they have overlooked the most evident 
criticisms. Still, in this case I think Harry is right." 

At another place in the gallery there was an electric door, and people were 
invited by placards to walk through it. It had a handle like other doors, 
but no one ever touched it ; for no sooner did one approach than the door 
opened politely, closing after the person was upon the other side. 

One man — "who thought he was smart," Philip said — walked up to the 
door as if he meant to pass through the doorway, and then halted. The 
door remained open so long as the man stood before it, and closed when he 
turned away. 

" It seems a pity to fool a door that is so polite," Harry said. " Look," 
he added ; " there is a nice little girl trying it. See her laugh ! It reminds 
her of 'Alice in Wonderland.' " 



204 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



Germany had a historical exhibit showing the earher and cruder forms 
of dynamos ; but the boys were not very well acquainted with dynamos. 
Mr. Douglass tried to explain how they worked ; but after he found he 
had lost the trail of his ideas, he said frankly: "Well, I thought I knew 
the theory of dynamos and converters ; but when I see the real machines 
here, they seem so much more complicated than the ones in the text-books 
that I find I don't know the reason for many of the parts." 

The boys took more interest in the Western Union exhibit, where they 
saw Professor Morse's earliest receiving instrument, and photographs of the 




AN EXHIBIT OF RAILS: MINING BUILDING. 



original first message, " What hath God wrought ! " The same words 
were affixed to the front of the pavilion, where not only the original instru- 
ment but the modern quadruplex system — a method of sending two mes- 
sages each way, and all at once, on a single wire — was shown. 

"I wish," said Harry, "that I could see the game of leap-frog these 
quadruped signals must jslay to get by on the same track ! " 

Farther on were other German or Austrian exhibits, in one of which the 
boys saw a dome copied from that on some central telegraph station, and 
made up entirely of openwork so as to give room for hundreds of insulators. 
These insulators made up the curved surface of the dome, and the effect was 



THE ELECTRICITY BUILDING 



205 



very decorative, while the arrangement must have been a great saving of 
space. 

What a lot of things there were besides ! There was an electric cooking- 
apparatus where water was boiled upon a flat iron plate ; there were clocks 
so contrived as to note the times a watchman touched a button on the front; 
there was Professor Gray's telautograph, which merits some description. 

Holding a pen as in writing, the sender marks down his message, draws 
a design, inscribes his name — in fact, uses the pen as freely as if it had 
" no connection with the establishment across the way." But two cords 




TWISTED IRON : MINING BUILDING. 



extend out from this pen and work an electric apparatus so as to pull two 
other cords or wires just as the first ones are moved : if he makes a mark 
down, the other pen is pulled down too ; whatever one pen does, the other 
must do. Of course, then, any drawing or writing made upon one machine 
is also made on the other — no matter whether it is in the next room, the 
next county, or the next State. That is the telautograph — the name 
being Greek for " far-self- writer." 

In the exhibit of the Commercial Cable Company were shown the method 
of writing messages in wavy lines, and bits of cable where the covering had 



206 HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 

been injured, and the injury — sometimes no larger than a tack would make 
— traced and located many miles from shore by means of delicate tests. 

Down-stairs were great dynamos, electric cars, the Edison-light tower, 
which they had already seen in operation on their first evening at the Fair, 
and such an array of complicated measures, meters, and tests that the boys 
walked humbly out, feeling very small indeed as they passed the heroic statue 
of Benjamin Franklin in the portico. They felt that for the first time they 
understood how great a man was the printer's boy who began by carrying 
two rolls under his arms and ended by carrying a thunderbolt under one 
arm and a scepter under the other. 

" But even he," said Harry, as he jingled a pocketful of expensive 
souvenirs, " once paid too dear for his whistle." 

The Electricity Building's stocky twin, the Mining Exhibit, was right next 
door, and came next upon Philip's neat list. But they did not intend to 
give a very long time to this building. They knew it to be full of minerals 
and mining machinery, and now felt small enough to admit there were two 
or three things in each display that they did not understand. 

The first distinct feature was the Stumm exhibit, which, behind a most 
imposing gateway of wrought-iron, showed rails and pipes in sizes ranging 
from mammoth to midget, built into two towering obelisks, and two trophies 
that resembled iron fountains. They gazed upon these with vague admira- 
tion, and then set out to find the Tiffany diamond show ; they " found it, in- 
deed, but it made their hearts bleed " to see the crowd piled three or four deep 
against every loophole and knot-hole where a wheel or a band was visible. 

The same result followed an attempt to inspect the Kimberley diamond- 
washing. They did see an enormous Zulu with embroidered suspenders 
pour a bucket of bluish mud into a great hopper, but though they lingered 
round in a most lamblike way, nothing else was to be observed. 

Iowa showed a life-size model of a coal-miner at work in his gallery ; 
and at one glance the boys learned how it would feel to be " down in a coal- 
mine, underneath the ground, where a ray of sunlight never can be found." 
They also enjoyed hearing and seeing the steam-drills, and gazed curiously 
at a model of " Lot's wife," — a woman built of salt, — in the Louisiana 
Exhibit. Various mines had sent models showing just how their galleries 
were built, and the boys inspected them critically. But they did not 
find very much to detain them in the Mining Building. Other people, too, 
seemed more interested in the souvenir stands than in the profusion of ores 
and stone blocks. Montana's silver statue of Justice seemed to the boys 
more of a curiosity than a work of art, and they had no patience with the _ 
long arrays of machinery that meant nothing to them. Those who were 



A PUZZLED GUARD 



207 



examining the exhibits were few, and the large crowds were watching the 
counters where small metal articles were plated, or were sitting in corners 
where they could rest themselves. 

A Columbian guard noticed that Philip had his kodak, and said, " You 
can't take pictures in here ; it 's not allowed." 

" I have n't taken any," said Philip ; and then, as the guard seemed good- 
natured, he added, " I don't see anything much to take. Why don't they let 
you take things in here ? " 

The oruard grrinned. " I 'm sure I don't know," he said. "There does n't 
seem to be any sense in it." 







SOUTH PORCH OF MINES BUILDING. 



CHAPTER XVI 

The ''Golden Doorway" — Transportation Building — An Endless Array 
— Bicycles, Boats, and Bullock-wagons — The Annex — The Railroad 
Exhibits. 




THE CROWD CU.MiNG IN WITH LUNCHES. 



From the steps of the Mining Build- 
ing the boys looked over toward the 
"Golden Doorway" of the Transpor- 
tation Building, and made up their minds 
that it looked promising. By this time 
the white buildings had made them orjad 
of the fancy harlequin costume worn by 
the autumnal-colored member of this 
interesting family. They liked even the 
angels painted along the walls, and as 
for the brakeman, "Mr. Land," they 
thought he appeared to be a young fellow well worth knowing. 

So they entered with a readiness to enjoy whatever they should iind. 
But they soon discovered there was no need to make excuses for the Trans- 
portation Building, and before long they carried out to the letter Harry's 
punning prediction, " Now we shall go into transports ! " 

They had missed so much at other times by leaving the galleries to the 
last that this time they went at once up the stairs. But on the landing they 
turned to take a view of the Lord Mayor's Coach, an elegant turnout, as fine 
as a fiddle, which made the boys think at once of poor little Dick Whittington. 
It was Harry's proposal to go into the gallery, and he was led to make 
it because there were set upon the gallery-railing two bicycles, ridden by 
dummy figures of a young man and a young woman. Harry liked bicycles, 
and meant some day to have "a beauty"; and he thought this was a good 
opportunity to get points. 



2IO 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



He got points ; in fact, he picked so many points that 'he could n't re- 
member them, for there were bicycles enough in the gallery to bend all the 
backs in a city into the letter " C." But before examining these, the whole 
party were glad to give some time to Mrs. French- Sheldon's camping-outfit 

and traveling sedan-chair. Shortly 
described, it Avas just a basket on poles, 
but it was sumptuously fitted up with 
cushions and awnings, and most in- 
geniously contrived so as to be light, 
comfortable, and convenient. 

" She 's the woman who collected 
all those odd things we saw in the 
Woman's Building," said Philip. 

" Yes, I remember reading about 
her in the papers," said Harry. " She 
carried a fine silk dress with her, and 
always put it on when she received a 
native ruler. She seemed to think they 
liked it. But I have my doubts. I be- 
lieve old Sultan Alkali Ben Muddy 
would grin when he was climbing back 
on his camel, and say to his first camel - 
driver, ' The white woman is plucky, 
but I must say she puts on a lot of 
style ! ' " 

Really Harry could not help a feel- 
ineof ereat admiration for Mrs. French- 
Sheldon, and he would have liked to 
own a tent and palanquin of his own. 
Passing through a corridor of photo- 
graphs showing "foreign scenes in New 
Jersey," as they heard a jocular Irish- 
man remark, they saw next an Indian 
ox-cart, heavy enough and clumsy 
enough to make any civilized Buck 

and Bright weep. Then came a tobacco-hogshead to which was attached 

a branched iron pole, so that the hogshead was its own wheel and cart 

in one. 

They heard a Southern girl say to her friend, " I 've seen one just like 

that in Richmond." But she had n't seen the next exhibit, for it was the 




FIGURE OF BRAKEMAN, TRANSPORTATION BUILDING. 



THE TRANSPORTATION BUILDING 



21 I 



model of an antique chariot found near Tliebes, and supposed to be a racing- 
sulky of such antiquity as to be labeled " the oldest vehicle known." 

Harry, and indeed all three of the party, wondered at its beauty and ele- 
gant finish. It was made of some smooth-grained wood and rounded into 
exquisite curves. Harry made a hasty sketch of it, but had little hope that 
he could really draw its exquisite curves when he got home. 

Then they went on, to be stopped by some African palanquins, fitted with 
carrying-poles, and, in sharp contrast to the Theban chariot, an African log- 
canoe so rude that it looked like the Missing 
Link's private j^acht. In close succession came 
vehicles for carrying such difterent articles as 
babies, dolls, and cash in dry-goods shops ; 
but all were quite familiar to the New York 
boys. They found two "bicycle-railroads" 
more interesting, especially the one that hung 
from an overhead track. 

" It would n't be surprising," said Mr. 
Douglass, " if we should live to see those 
tracks put up over large sections of the land. 
For the bicycle is capable of displacing almost 
all passenger-carriers except in special cases. 
You see them here in this gallery so arranged 
as to be ridden by one, two, or three riders, 
so as to carry children with their parents, or 
fitted up for the use of firemen or soldiers." 

At the end of a gallery they found figures 
showing how Mexican donkeys are loaded, 
men carrying chairs for transporting passen- 
gers over mountain-trails, and richly attired 
cavaliers mounted upon finer specimens of the same patient donkeys that 
carry panniers. 

An exhibition of leather saddles and similar wares broug-ht them to a 
counter where whips were being covered by little bobbins revolving about 
as dancers whirl in the german. These whips were also for sale as sou — 

"I wonder," said Mr. Douglass, "that they did n't offer to sell us the 
Cliff- Dwellers' mummies as souvenirs. They certainly would outlast most 
of the cheap bric-a-brac offered for sale." 

Japan showed in this building only a few models of engineering-works, 
and the boys did not give much time to her exhibit. They were most 
attracted by the smaller articles displayed on both sides of the galleries : an 




BIT OF ORNAMENT, TRANSPORTATION BUILDING. 



212 HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 

English sedan-chair, such as they had seen in old paintings ; a springless 
velocipede called the "Dandy Horse," and dated 1810; the small model 
of an old stage-coach ; a wonderfully fine model of Forth Bridge, Scotland, 
showing a miniature train of cars hardly thicker than a lead-pencil ; a 
modern club canoe, side by side with barbaric outrigger canoes from the 
Friendly Isles (maybe). 

There was also a large model showing just what style of boat the fisher- 
men used upon the Sea of Galilee in the days of the Saviour ; it was a 
double-ended deep boat, looking as if it was very seaworthy, but gaudily 
painted. 

The Chamber of Commerce of the Port of Dunkerque, France, had sent 
to the Exposition an enormous reproduction of the town and harbors, so 
large that each house had its tiny model in the mimic town. The boys 
admired this exhibit, and concluded that the money and labor expended 
upon it would not be wasted ; for if they had been merchants they knew 
that it would have been impossible for them to forget what an excellent 
place Dunkerque must be for trading. 

Another exhibit which they equally praised was that of a French steam- 
ship company which had made a "diorama," or series of life-size views, 
setting forth exactly what traveling by their line would be. And instead of 
being satisfied with inferior work, they had selected a skilled artist to paint 
their pictures. 

One will serve as a specimen. It was a painting that represented the 
last moments before sailing from Havre to New York. The spectator saw 
before him the long dock crowded with the passengers. Here an old 
mother was tearfully bidding her son good-by ; here a party of jolly tourists 
were waving handkerchiefs to friends upon the steamer. In another spot 
was a lonely traveler who seemed to have no friend other than a carpet- 
bag. And, in short, the whole scene was vividly rendered with artistic 
power and with feeling.' There were eight of these pictures, and the boys 
left none unvisited. 

From a little beyond this point the boys could see the full-sized section 
of an ocean-steamer that reached from the floor to the roof, that is, countingr 
the smokestack ; and the boys agreed to sample that section before leaving. 
As yet, they found it hard to get through the galleries. Just as they had 
made up their minds to go down the stairs, they would come upon some- 
thing that must be looked at. Such was a Netherland fishing-boat, so 
quaint that Philip succeeded in photographing it, even though the light was 
anything but favorable. 

Still more fascinating were the German exhibits of men-of-war — little. 



214 HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 

fierce battle-ships with rifled cannon hardly larger than darning-needles, 
but every detail so finely finished that it was like watchmakers' work. In 
this series were shown all sorts of boats, fi^om the swift cruiser down to the 
tiny torpedo-boat. 

"What toys men can make when they try!" said Harry, enviously. 
" To think of the clumsy things that are made for children when such little 
beauties as these are possible ! Why, there are models of boats here in this 
Fair that are so neat the King of the Fairies would feel timid about entering 
them — and I wish I owned one of them, that 's all ! " 

But there was no time to spare for enthusiasm. Folding-boats must be 
seen, and a gondola, — the last so exquisite in its fittings that the ones out 
on the Lagoon were like it as an ash-cart is like a state carriage, — and models 
of boats from India, whole cases of them, in all varieties and endless numbers. 

Philip walked away and sat down in a corner. 

"What's the matter, Philip?" asked Mr. Douglass — "are you tired?" 

"I have been tired all the time I 've been in the Fair," said Philip; "but 
it is n't that. I am getting mad. I want to see things ; I want to learn 
about them, and remember about them. And there is no chance. It 's like 
trying to pick out stars in the heavens when you don't know a thing about 
astronomy. As soon as you look at one it disappears, and you see another." 

"Well, Phil," said Harry, "you know we leave for home to-morrow 
afternoon. Bear up — be brave; it '11 soon be over now. Come and see 
the ferry-boat with the side taken out so you can understand it — if you 
have time. Why, you have n't begun to see anything yet ! " 

But Mr. Douglass stopped Harry with a warning look ; he saw that 
Philip was really getting tired out. Harry took things more easily, and was 
less in earnest ; but Philip preferred to see things in order, and to study 
them by system. Excellent as is this rule for ordinary cases, a World's Ex- 
position must be treated differently. It is possible, of course, to study only 
one subject in the Fair, and ignore the rest ; but no one ever does so. 
Human nature will not permit of it. 

Descending to the main floor they walked up to the model of the 
Bethlehem steam-hammer that made an arch across the center aisle, and 
after some reflections upon the statistics attached to this monster, resolutely 
passed whole platoons of exhibits no visitor should miss. 

Mr. Douglass and Harry left Philip to rest awhile upon a settee in one 
of the side corridors, while they went through the section of the big Atlantic 
Liner. Beginning at the steerage, they worked their way upward through 
the office, saloon, smoking-room, and state-rooms until from the upper deck 
they could see Philip's disconsolate form far below. 




A SECTION OF A STEAMSHIP. 



2l6 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



To Mr. Douglass, who had never crossed the ocean in one of these 
palace steamers, the exhibit was wonderfully interesting ; but to Harry it 
was less of a novelty. 

Returning to where Philip sat, they decided to take lunch before going 
farther, and went into a small space where there was a lunch-counter, some 
very independent waiters, and a slap-dash way of serving that added no 




THE " DE WITT CLINTON" TRAIN. 



relish to the rather poor food. But the rest was pleasant ; and after lunch 
they felt quite able to enter the Annex, where they found another bewilder- 
ing array of locomotives, trains of cars, torpedo-boats, car-seats, rapid-fire 
guns, and " other things too numerous to mention," as boys say in their 
compositions when they can't think of anything else. 

They went through palace cars, and tourist cars, and English railway- 
trains, and then sought relief by examining a military wagon so made as to 
tip up and form a steel-clad breastwork. They could not pass this, for a 
dummy soldier was leveling his rifle directly over the edge, and a placard 
said, " Halt!" in very peremptory letters. It repaid them for stopping, for 
they decided that it was new to all of them, and a very ingenious invention. 

Then leaving the building, they made their way toward home, but were 
caught and held by the great express engine, shown by the New York 



THE RAILROAD EXHIBITS 



217 



Central. They had often passed it, but had been reserving a more careful 
examination until they should have seen the exhibits in the Transportation 
Building. Now they walked through the whole train ; but they found it 
much like the " Limited Express " they intended to be in next day, steam- 
ine alonof toward New York. The "De Witt Clinton," the first locomotive 




THE "JOHN bull" TRAIN. 



used in New York State, stood in front of "999," and looked like a dwarf 
kobold beside a splendidly developed giant. 

They heard some men sneeringly say, "That was the best they could do 
then ! " and Harry could n't help wondering how long the world would have 
had to wait for "999" if such narrow-minded men were its only dependence 
for improvement. 

Crossing the broad white road, they next went into the Pennsylvania 
museum of old engines and railroad appliances. Here they spent more than 
an hour studying the curious history of railroad invention from the begin- 
ning. There was a model of the "John Bull," and of its descendants from 
children to great-great-great-grandchildren. Nor was this display confined 
to locomotives: there were a packet-boat, such as Mr. Douglass remem- 
bered to have traveled in when he was a little shaver in short trousers and 
velvet jacket, the still more ancient Conestoga wagon with its boat-like 



2l8 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



body and long awning, and the old stage-coach labeled " Twenty days from 

Pittsburg to Philadelphia." 

Besides these models there were relics — old tools, old lanterns, and 

ticket-punches ; and systems of signaling were also illustrated. But it is 

impossible to recall or put down 
even the leading attractions of this 
clever little museum. 

While Mr. Douglass and Harry 
were looking at these cases, and 
at the photographs showing views 
along the road, Philip wandered 
away to the other side of the room, 
and found diagrams, charts, and 
pieces of mechanism for showing 
the statistics of the Pennsylvania 
road. 

Gilded blocks as lar^e and 
larger than a boy's head, showed 
the amounts of silver paid to em- 
ployees every hour. An obelisk 
built from tiny stones represented 
the amount of ballast in this ofreat 
railroad as compared with the pyra- 
mid of Cheops which was con- 
structed on the same scale just 
alongside. The pyramid was no- 
where in comparison. A little 




INTERIOR OF A PULLMAN CAR. 



globe with a railroad-track going around the equator and lapping enough to 
tie in a bow-knot showed the length of this railroad system. Two bits of 
rail whereon were silver dollars laid edge to edge, were meant to show 
the cost of the road — a sum large enough to cover all its rails with a row 
of silver dollars. Another globe had models of little locomotives running 
around it, to show the number of miles covered by trains — enough to 
encircle our globe every two hours. Tiny coal-carts, drawn by clockwork 
up from a jaretended mine, taught that two and one-half tons of coal were 
burned every fifteen seconds. 

Altogether Philip thought the Pennsylvania had "done herself proud" — 
except in the models of railroad-men in uniform. No one, however deeply 
impressed with the rest of the exhibit, would care to ride on a road run by 
such men as the dummies were. Philip would not have been surprised at a 



THE RAILROAD EXHIBITS 



219 



Strike on the whole system if the men could have seen those great paste- 
board gawks that stood in their clothes. 

For the last few days they had been really studying the exhibits instead 
of wandering around with an idea of being amused. As the next day was 
to be their last at the Fair, Mr. Douglass made no objection to their going 
once more to the Plaisance, where there was more fun than instruction ; and 
with this prospect in view, they forgave the tutor for the useful knowledge 
they had been so steadily acquiring. 




MODEL OF THE BRITISH BATTLE-SHIP * VICTORIA. 

Sunk in collision with the "Camperdown." 




IN THE LAPLAND VILLAGE, 



CHAPTER XVII 

A Rainy Day — The Plaisance Again — The Glass-works — The German 
Village — The IrisJi Village — Farewell to the Phantom City. 



The boys had seen a number of unpleas- 
ant days at the Fair, but their last day was 
the worst. It did much to reconcile them 
to going away. Not only did it rain in a 
fine, penetrating drizzle, but the wind blew 
a gale, and kindly carried the dampness 
where it could not have gone by itself. 
While walking outdoors, the boys saw no- 
thing amusing in the weather. But Mr. 
Doug'lass, in order to cash a check, had to 
call upon one of the gentlemen whose office 
was in the Electricity Building ; and, waiting 
for him, the boys sat at a window that looked 
out upon the Court of Honor, and then found 
that the storm had its funny side. 

Visitors seemed to object to walking 
straight, and leaned over against the wind 
like a fleet of fishing-smacks on a rouo-h 
day. The launches going northward found their propellers only a luxury, 
for their awnings made excellent sails. Hats left their owners' heads, and 
started to see the Exposition alone. Small boys and men played short- 
stop at a moment's notice, and became very skilful in " dropping upon the " 
hat as it rolled by upon its brim. 

" Hats blown off while you wait ! " said Harry, laughing as he saw a 
vigorous man spear his own hat with a thrust of his cane. The boys 
counted four similar hunts in a few minutes. 




A BOY FROM JOHOKE. 



222 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



Women coming around the corner of the Administration Building 
seemed suddenly impressed with the beauty of the MacMonnies Fountain, 
and started for it at a run ; but, quickly changing their minds, beat back 




THE VENETIAN GLASS-BLOWERS. 



again to their true course. The flags floated stiff" upon the gale, and the 
water in the Lagoon changed color continually. 

"I feel," said Mr. Douglass, "that it is rather a pity to spend our last 
few hours here in a visit to the Midway Plaisance. We should really prefer 
to go again to the Art Gallery, which we have not half seen." 

" I know," said Harry ; "but the Art Building is long and time is fleet- 
ing. The advantage of going to the Midway is that the poor shows are 
not worth staying through, and the good ones are few." 

Entering the Midway they found that the rain had dampened the enthu- 
siasm of even this crowd — usually the liveliest and gayest on the grounds. 
They passed by the " Congress of Beauty," and the Philadelphia Working- 
man's Model Home (Philip wondered why they did not show an Idle-man's 
Home beside it), and selected the Libbey Glass-works for their first visit. 

Within a rounded building they found a tall brick chimney, the lower 
part of which was made into a glass-heating furnace. About this boys were 
carrying upon iron rods lumps of what looked like hot coal. When the 
glass was just right, it was handed to a man, who cut and molded and 
trimmed the lump of glass into a bottle, or goblet, or globe. The men 
were so skilful that it was difficult to make out how they did their work ; 



THE GLASS-WORKS 



223 



and, somehow, they never seemed to be making any of the more interesting 
pieces that were exhibited in the sliow-cases. The only bit of skill the 
boys could discover was that shown in keeping the ball of molten glass 
rounded. Whenever one of the rods was put down for a few moments, the 
glass would become stretched by its own weight to a long drop, and then 
had to be reheated. 

When one of the workmen wished to cut a finished piece of work from 
the end of the rod, he would hold a pair of cold pincers against it for a few 
moments and it would snap away at a touch. 

The tickets of admission to this show were announced to be good for 
twenty-five cents applied upon any purchase made in the building. But 
the boys concluded, after an examination of the prices, that it was easy to 
see through tJiat little scheme. In fact, Harry declared that if postage- 
stamps had been on sale there, the price of two-centers would have been 
"two cents and a ticket." 

They bought little. Philip paid ten cents "and a ticket" for a spun- 
glass book-mark, and Harry bought a tiny cup of white and ruby glass. 
The compartments about the central hall contained, besides show-cases, a 
loom for weaving glass threads, a glass-cutting wheel, and, most interesting 
of all, a glass-spinning wheel. The boys studied this for quite a while. 
There was a big wheel with a broad, thin metal rim kept cool and moist. 
The workman sat at one side holding 
a glass rod before a blowpipe and 
moving it round and round and slowly 
forward so as to keep it melted fast 
enough to feed the single long thread 
to the rapidly revolving wheel. 

" How do you suppose he begins 
the spinning?" said Philip, turning 
to Mr. Douglass. 

"I can only guess," Mr. Doug- 
lass replied ; "but I suppose he heats 
a glass rod in the middle, drawing 
the two ends apart until he makes a 
thread, and then attaches an end of 
that thread to the wheel, turn in e it 
slowly at first." 

" I should think it would be hard 
to feed the wheel just fast enough," said Harry; "but the man seems to 
take it easy " ; and he did, for he was laughing and winking at the crowd. 




LITTLE DAHO.MEY BOY, AND HIS PLAYTHINGS. 




AN ACTOR IN THE CHINESE THEATER. 



The Venetian Glass-works were just opposite, and as the charge was 
only ten cents, the party went there also. The process was much the same; 
but the men were foreigners, and therefore seemed more picturesque. Their 
work was more interesting to watch. One man was making a sort of spray 
of glass, and affixed leaves, pressed them with molding-pincers, and twisted 
them so quickly that it needed close watching for the boys to comprehend 
the work. He cut the softened glass into scallops with scissors as easily as 
if it had been dough — every now and then reheating the bit of work. The 
boys were amused to see him fasten on several ornamental medallions — for 
he used lumps of red-hot glass for glue. 

In the rooms where the Venetian glass was on sale, there was no trace 
of the businesslike sharpness so noticeable in the American establishment 
over the way. Here the salesmen moved around as slowly as their own 
gondolas in contrast with the electric-launch movements of the American 
shop-people. Leaving the glass-works, they were attracted by a " Japanese 



DAMP JAVANESE 



22; 



Bazaar," and walked through what proved to be only a magnified Japanese 
store, such as they had often seen. But as they went out, they saw a small 
boy who was delighted to have found a great cloth fish upon the little lawn 
outside. With a joyful cheer, he tried to raise it up so that the wind would 
fill it. But another and very fierce small boy j'elled out, " Here, you! — let 
that fish alone ! " and the first boy's cheering stopped at once. 

Upon the same side was the Javanese village, to which they now made a 
second visit; but it was swept by gusts of cold wind and rain, and bore little 
resemblance to the sunny, bright little settlement they remembered. The 
band was silent, there was no chiming of gongs, and the merry little Javan- 
ese were soaked and sad. The bazaars, or 
shop-counters, were deserted except by those 
on duty, and they were huddled together 
trying to cheer one another by feeble old 
Javanese jokes. 

Upon the veranda of one of the houses, 
the boys saw a family of natives at dinner, 
and one little boy put his hand into the dishes 
and helped himself He was not reproved, 
however, by his father or mother, for they 
were doingr the same thing. 

" Here," said Harry, as they passed the 
middle of the grounds, "is something that 
only sings louder Avhen it rains " ; and he 
pointed to the musical waterwheel that has 
been already described ; but this time they 
noticed there was an idol near by — a queer, 
grotesque figure with which no self-respect- 
ing scarecrow would care to claim an acquain- 
tance. He looked as if a hairbrush would 
have been a shock to his nerves. Only one 
more thing needs mention. 

"There go&sjive," said Philip, and Harry 
caught sight of a Javanese boy chasing his 
fleeing straw hat across the road. 

Having been advised to see the Ger- 
man village, they took that next, and found 
it well worth a visit. It contained specimens of old German houses — 
for instance, a "Black Forest House" dated 1480. The boys and Mr. 
Doug'lass walked into its main room, and were becommof a little sen- 




A CHINESE ]\IAMA AND HER BABY. 



226 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



timental over the antique furniture, pictures, and carvings, when a voice 
brought them back four hundred years by inquiring: "Vill the shentle- 
mans come see my soufenirs ? Here are some fine soufenirs ! " They 
declined to see souvenirs, and became absorbed instead in a towel-rack. 
The roller upon which the towel hung was supported in the hands of a jolly 
young peasant's figure, who seemed smilingly to hold it forth. Next to this 




INTERIOR OF THE JAVA THEATER. 



came a Bavarian dwelling, the outside of which was all the party cared to 
see, for they suspected that the German village required a longer visit than 
they had intended to pay. And when they had come to the museum, built 
in the form of a German castle, they were glad they had not stopped to see 
the Bavarian and other model houses. 

The collection in the museum began with suits of armor from the rudest 
of chain-armor to the ornamented plate of later centuries. Arranged upon 
the wall were specimens of old arms — halberds, pikes, hooks, maces, lances, 
swords, daggers — every sort of iron tool which would serve to mince one's 
fellow-man. Besides the array upon the wall, there were show-cases also 
containing weapons, as well as knives, forks, spoons, and tools. 

Philip was amazed to see how much the tools of the Middle Ages re- 
sembled those of to-day. What difference there was, told in favor of the 
old-time workmen, as they seemed to care far more how their instruments 
looked, decorating the handles and putting ornamental flourishes on the 
metal parts. The scissors, forks, and knives also were carved and inlaid 
with gold or silver. Harry saw one enormous pocket-knife that he would 



THE GERMAN CASTLE 



227 



have liked to smuggle out. The handle was some six inches long, and the 
knife had four blades — one plain, one a saw, one a chopper, and the last a 
pruning-hook. Probably it had been a Christmas present to the head 
gardener of some Serene High Mightiness, given in recompense for having 
rescued one of Their Little High Mightinesses from the horse-pond. 

The last room in the German castle was filled with dummy figures 
dressed in various historic German costumes. They were grouped as if 
attending a reception, and faced a great figure typifying "Germania" 
surrounded by warriors in helmets and armor. 

Harry said he wondered that " no one had thought of calling the World's 
Fair City, 'A City of Dummies,' " for all the nations of the earth had gone 




THE SOLTH SEA ISLANDERS. 



into doll-making to furnish it with a resident population — a quiet, orderly, 
law-abiding race, though not full of intelligence. 

Just across from the German village, an enormous placard claimed for a 
Panorama of the Alps the distinction of the "only medal awarded for an 
exhibit on the Plaisance." It is needless to say that this captured our 
visitors. They went in and began the ascent of an inclined passage. It 
curved spirally round and round until they heartily wished it would n't. But 



228 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



•1 



l«! 



SOUXH • SET^ • ISL-HISD 

Village and Theater 

Admit ^c^^t^iytf H ^Cj / niCj W l%^cAJ> 'CoehH 



a party just ahead of them cried out, " Here we are ! " and soon they 
emerged upon a high platform in the middle of the great Swiss Mountains. 
Harry said he recognized the Matterhorn, the Clatterhorn, the Spatterhorn, 
and the Flatterhorn ; but the lecturer gave other names than these. The 
lecturer, with frequent allusions to "when I was there," and one condescend- 
ing "doubtless some of you have heard <?/ Interlaken," conducted a sheep- 
like crowd of sight-seers along a spiral iron fence that was meant to keep 
people from escaping till they had been at least twice around. 

Harry, who was not fond of fences as a rule, took in the situation at a 
glance, and solved the difficulty by sneaking under the rails to the exit. 
Philip went after, and Mr. Douglass saw nothing to do but to follow suit. 
But although they did not care much for the lecturer, the panorama was a 

fine piece of 
~" painting, and 

Harry said that 
" if not the Alps 
it was at least a 
very good alp 
for a quarter, 
even with the 
lecturer thrown 
in — still better 
if he had been 
thrown out ! " 
But Harry was 
unfair to this 
worthy man : most of the visitors enjoyed his clear explanations of the 
painting, and walked at his heels around all the spirals. 

"Samoa" — the South Sea Island show — consisted of a theater and 
grounds. The grounds were what Philip called " muddish " (a new word 
to Mr. Douglass, but one he could not disapprove), and the boys stopped 
only long enough to buy two bark hats, — pointed nightcaps, very elastic 
and a beautiful brown in color, — and to look in at a Samoan house where, 
according to the sign, "the boy, for a trifling fee, will show how to kindle a 
fire by rubbing two sticks together." But the boy sat huddled in a corner, 
looking as sour as a lemon, and they left him to dream of his native land. 
Besides, there was a stamping and a pounding and a yelling going on 
in the theater that no healthy American boy could long keep away from. 
When Harry was at the Plaisance one afternoon he had met the manager 
of this show, and that gentleman had given him passes for the two cousins ; 



Account - 



Until- 



^, 



t^-^ / 



ft 



"T 



.1893. 



VOID 

Unless Countersigned 

By H. N. NICHOLS. 



THE OGEflNIG TRADING GO. 



No., 



122 



THE SAMOAN THEATER 



229 




THE ALGERIAN THEATEK. 



SO in they went, to find a little stage whereon a gang of savages, naked to 
the waist, were trying to give people their money's worth so far as stamp- 
ing, yelling, and racket would avail. They had not even "kept their shirts 
on," but were all in chocolate-tinted neglige. When the curtain (painted 
with a Moorish landscape) hid the row, there was only a short intermission 
before the stag-e-manao'er hungf out a 
sign-board announcing a " Religious 
Dance." 

After that act was stilled, Harry 
said: "I did n't know shinny was a 
religious dance, but I think now it 
must be. Perhaps among some of 
the Pacific Islands a foot-ball scrim- 
mage would be considered a kind of 
prayer." The dance really was clever, 
consisting of wheeling about and clattering long and short sticks together 
rhythmically. The next act was some guttural singing by several women 
and all the men, who sat in rows cross-legged along the stage. It was 
just like the song " Swee-ee-eepo — sweepo-0-0 ! Sweep-ee-o — sweep-o ! " 
that may be heard from certain dusky residents of Manhattan Island on the 
Atlantic coast. A Fiji war-dance came next, and consisted in showing how 
bravely they would jab an advancing enemy with a paddle provided he 
would not go and spoil the little game by warding off or hitting back. 
It was grand, and the boys were especially delighted to see one of the 
younger girls come in at the back of the stage and go through the whole 
dance. "She 's a regular Tomboy Fiji," said Philip. 

There was more to the program, but the boys tired of it, and betook 
themselves to one of the Irish villages. 

Here were souvenirs of peat, of bog-oak, of lace, all sorts ; all sold by 
tidy little Irish girls with a brogue that it was hard to resist. Mr. Douglass 
picked up a black bog-oak cane. He seldom carried a cane, and had little 
idea of buying it. But the Irish girl looked at him with so cordial a smile 
that he felt bound to say something. 

" How much is it? " he asked. 

"'T is a dollar and a half, sir," she answered in a tone of heartfelt regret. 
Then confidentially, " But it is a fi-i-ine cane, that is, sir ! " 

He bought it, and the boys grinned. They had seen that the "blarney 
stone " was at the Fair, and were on their guard. Nevertheless thej' each 
bought a tiny black pig cut out of the same bog-oak, and were, as a mat- 
ter of course, blarneyed in turn. 



230 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



"How different the people in here!" said Mr. Douglass. "Did you 
notice that there was a row at the gate, and nothing but joking within ? " 

"Yes; it reminded me of New York at once," said Harry; "just as 
Irish Day did." 

It was now time for them to leave the grounds ; and although they were 
glad to get home and rest from sight-seeing, they felt very sentimental about 
taking their last look. They stood in the Court of Honor gazing silently 
about them, feeling as one feels in giving a parting hand-shake to a loved 
friend ; and then they turned away, knowing that the beautiful dream they 
had seen and lived in was no more than a dream : that the day would 
come when all that beauty would be a memory, and the "Ghost City" 
only a legend. 

But the phantom city has taught the American nation that they are a 
great people, who will some day make true in marble all that was imagined 
in that short-lived fairy-story of staff. 




ONE OF THE TWO IRISH VILLAGES. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

Packing for Home — A Glimpse of Niagara — Philip tells his Adventure — 
Foiling a Clever Swindler — A Convincing Exposure. 

They packed up that same afternoon, after considerable trouble in 
finding room for the knickknacks they had picked out, and took a carriage 
to the station. They found no signs to direct them, and had to inquire 
several times to make sure which was the track upon which they might 
expect the train for New York. When they thought they were certain 
of this, they saw a train come in on schedule time and on the proper track. 
But, to their surprise, a man called out, "Illinois Central train for Cairo and 
St. Louis ! " which threw the crowd into an uncertainty anything but pleas- 
ant. Missing: a local suburban train is troublesome enougfh; but missino- a 
train that is going one third across a continent is a disaster. 

To their great relief, the obliging colored porters very promptly cor- 
rected the stupid error, and they found themselves safely upon the train 
for New York. 

Their journey was a repetition of their trip out, except that this time 
they stopped to see the Falls of Niagara, viewing them, as young Phinney 
had done, from above the falls. 

" It 's a pity to see them from a distance only," said Mr. Douglass. " I 
should like to stay awhile." 

" They are well worth going over carefully," said Harry, thoughtfully; 
and Philip looked at him inquiringly. 

During the second day on the train, Mr. Douglass was talking to the 
boys as to their experiences at the Fair ; and then Philip's little adventure, 
before referred to, came out. As he told the story it ran something like this : 



•& 



That day when I was taking photographs in the Plaisance, I went into 
the Cairo Street a second time. I wanted, if possible, to get a picture of the 



232 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



little boy who leads the camels. They stopped me at the door, and while 
explaining that I had been permitted to take photographs there, I put my 
camera for a few moments on a camp-chair. 

When I looked around for it, my camera was missing. I tell you, I felt 
pretty mean. At first I did n't know what to do. I asked the ticket-taker 

about it, but he had n't seen any 




one take it. Then I thought. 



A KODAKER CAUGHT. 



quick, what a man would do who 
had picked up a camera like that, 
and I made up my mind that he 
would want to get out of Cairo 
Street as fast as he could. Of 
course, most of the people there 
were sight-seeing, and just moved 
along slowly. So I hopped up on 
top of the camp-chair, and looked 
over the crowd. Luckily, I caught 
sight of a man with a brown felt: 
hat, who was movingf fast through 
the slow-moving people. I made 
up my mind that it was my last ' 
chance for my kodak, and I went 
through the crowd like a snow- 
plow through a drift. I kept my eye on that brown felt hat, and pretty 
soon I caught up to the man. Once I thought I had lost him, for a camel 
came by, and I had to get out of the way ; but I found him again, and, as 
I said, I got near to him. 

I saw at once that he had a camera in his hand, and I was pretty sure 
it was mine. But just as I was going to catch hold of it, I happened to 
think it was a serious matter to tell a man he was a thief, and I stopped to 
make sure what I ought to do. The man was pushing through the crowd 
so fast that I had no good chance to take a real square look at the camera, 
so I concluded I would just keep after him till he thought he was clear 
away. He kept looking behind him at first, but now he began to go slower, 
as if he thought everything was all right. [" Little dreaming," Harry put 
in, "that a sleuth-hound wearing magnifying-glasses was upon his tr-rail!"] 
I kept off to his left, and he did n't see me. Pretty soon he came out 
into the Fair Grounds, and there were n't so many people there. He turned 
toward one of the north entrances, and I kept a sharp lookout for a Colum- 
bian Guard. I did n't take the first one I saw, because he looked sleepy and 



PHILIP TELLS HIS ADVENTURE 



233 



Stupid, and I was afraid he would arrest me ; but the next was a soldierly- 
looking fellow, and after seeing my man was taking it easy, I went to this 
guard and said : 

" That man with the brown felt hat, there, picked up my camera when I 
was n't looking, and walked off with it. I want you to get it back for me." 

" Sure, young fellow? " he said, looking at me hard. 

" Sure," I said ; for by that time I had seen a bruise on one corner of the 
camera where I dropped it once. 

"All right," said he. " Come along. You go after the man, and don't 
lose sight of him, and I '11 go around this little building and meet him." 

So we did. And it worked first-rate. The guard was a fly sort of a fel- 
low, and instead of asking the man whether that was his camera, he asked 
him whether he had a permit for it. 

The man stopped and looked puzzled for a minute, then he put on a face 
as bold as brass, and said: " No, sir. I have not yet obtained one, but I 
was going to get one." 

"Where were you going for it? " said the guard, to catch him. 

" I was about to ask you," said the man, with a sharp kind of a smile, 
seeing the guard's little game. This 
made the guard lose his temper, and 
out he came with the whole story. 

"This young man here says that 
camera is his, and that you picked it 
up," said the guard. 

"The impertinent young rascal!" 
said the man, who must have been a 
cool hand. 

"We 'ir see about that," said the 
guard, who began to wonder which of 
us was lying. 

" I don't propose to be bothered 
by this young scamp," said the man, 
seeing that the guard hesitated a little. 
" If you will tell me where to obtain 
a permit for my camera, I shall be ob- 
liged to you." 

Well, his coolness staggered the guard, and it did me. I wondered for 
a minute whether I had made a mistake; but when I looked at the camera, 
there was the bump on the corner, and I was sure again. 

" Ask him," I said to the guard, " what is the name of his camera." 




REGISTERING IN NEW YORK STATE BUILDING. 



234 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



"You saucy young villain, I don't propose to be questioned about this 
any longer!" said the man, and he turned to walk away. But that decided 
the guard. 

"No, sir!" he said. "You '11 come with me, and we '11 have this ques- 
tion settled." 

The man looked around quick, as if he was .wondering what the chances 
were if he should run for it ; but the guard laid his hand on the man's 
shoulder, and the swindler then decided to brazen it out. 

"Very good," he said, looking at his watch ; "I shall lose my train, but 
I suppose this absurd matter must be disposed of" 

" But I thought you wanted a permit for your camera ? " said the guard, 
with a grin ; and then the man bit his lip. That time he made a mistake. 

The guard went to a sort of little sentry-box, and sent out a signal. 
Pretty soon a patrol-wagon came driving up, and we were taken in it out- 
side of the grounds to a police-station. 

" Officer," said the man to the sergeant (I suppose it was), " this foolish 
boy has laid claim to my camera, and — " 

"Now, don't be in a hurry," said the officer, coolly. "I '11 hear the 

guard first, please." The guard told 
the story very clearly and plainly. 

"Is that correct?" said the ser- 
geant to me. 

"Yes, sir; and I can prove — " 
I began. 

"Go slow, young man," said the 
sergeant, motioning to me to stop 
talking. Then he said to the man 
who had my camera : 

" Is that story correct? " 
" Entirely, Sergeant." 
"Very good," the sergeant said. 
" Now, young man, how can you 
prove it is your box ? " 

"Well," said I, "it's a Kodak 
No. 4, and it has a bruise on one 
corner." 

"Yes," said the swindler, "I see. That is what has caused the trouble. 
Mine has a bruise on the corner, too. I dropped it this morning as I 
was cominof throuo;h the turnstile." 

"That 's rather slim proof to arrest a man on," said the sergeant, 




ALONG THE LAKE. 



AT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS 



235 



looking hard at me. Then I began wondering how I could prove my own- 
ership, and I thought of the pictures I had taken. 

" I know ! " I said. " I can prove it by the photographs I took. I 
remember some of them anyway. There was one of — " 

"Hold on!- — hold on!" cried the sergeant, quick as lightning. "It 's 
the defendant's turn now. Per- 
haps, sir, you will tell us what pic- 
tures are in the camera?" 

" I am sorry to say that I can- 
not," said the man, still polite. He 
was a smart fellow. " Indeed, the 
camera belongs to a friend of mine, 
and he lent it to me this morning 
for the da)'. He may have taken 
pictures with it. I took only one 
myself, and that was a view of the 
crowd in Cairo Street. If you will 
have the pictures developed, you 
will see that I am right." 

Then I was scared. I wish you 
could have seen the fellow — he 
was as cool as a cucumber. He 
was no common swindler, I 'm sure. 

"That 's a fair proposal," said the sergeant, who was puzzled by this 
queer case. " Let us adjourn to a photographer. And don't let either of 
these men get away," he added, turning to a policeman. 

So then we formed in procession, and went around the corner to a 
photographer's and into his dark-room. The sergeant explained what 
we wanted. 

But before the photographer began to develop the film, I spoke up and 
said: "Sergeant, this man probably took one picture just after he picked 
up the camera. It was all set, and all he had to do was to touch the button. 
Now, it is n't likely he knows anything about the camera if he stole it. If 
he did n't, his friend must have told him how to work it." 

"I think that 's a sound argument," said the sergeant. "But suppose 
you write down all the pictures you remember taking." 

" I don't know how to manage the camera entirely," said the man ; "but 
I intended to get the photographer to explain it to me." 

While I was writing down all the pictures I remembered, and the pho- 
tographer was developing the film, the sergeant turned to the man who had 




THE DARK ROOM. 



2x6 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



taken my camera, and said quickly: "By the way, wliat was the name and 
address of the friend who lent you the camera ? " 

Well, that staggered the fellow completely. " I brought it from New 
York," he began, " and his name is — " 

" Don't trouble yourself to invent a name," said the sergeant, sharply. 
" You said he lent it to you this morning for the day. Now, I doubt 

whether you came from New York 
this morning. Don't you think that 
you may have picked up this camera 
by mistake for the one your friend lent 
to you this morning in New York ? " 
But before the fellow could an- 
swer, the photographer said: "The 
pictures tally with the young man's 
list, and the one of the crowd in 
Cairo Street is a double exposure 
showing that the film had n't been 
wound up after this young man had 
taken the previous picture outside. 
"And, Sergeant, the funniest part of it all is, that one of the pictures 
that the young man took just at the door of Cairo Street, shows this man 
standing looking at the camera, but without any of his own ! " and then all 
the men in the room looked at the thief and grinned. 

"Well," said the sergeant to the man, "what do you think about that 
mistake ? " 

"I 'm afraid it must have been an error," said the man, rather shakily. 
" I picked up this camera thinking it was my own, and — " 

The sergeant said sharply, " Now, you get out of here, and quick too. 
It would n't pay to prosecute you, for you 're too slippery. Get out — 
quick ! " And the man just skipped. 

"Now, young man," said the sergeant, "you take better care of your 
camera next time. I '11 see you into the grounds again." 

So I thanked him. He saw me through the gate, and that was the end 
of my adventure. But it was a close shave. I did n't tell you about it be- 
fore, for fear you would think I had been stupid. 




H'NCHING OUTDOORS. 




U S^'' 



WONDERFUL ! 




THE FERRIS WHEEL, FROM '*OLD VIENNA.' 



238 



CHAPTER XIX 
M7\ Dotiglass has a Remarkable Experience. 

" No, SIR ; not this afternoon, sir. I 'm very sorry, but that 's the 
orders. We have to be very careful with her, sir. There has n't been 
anybody in it for full two hours," said the man at the gate. 

" But it 's one of the advertised attractions of the Midway, and I insist," 
said Mr. Douglass. He had already been in the Ferris Wheel once before, 
and had not meant to return to it, but circumstances were too strong' for 
him, and here he was, ready to pay, but unable to get a ticket. 

" Insist or not," said the man at the gate; " you can't get in if you want 
to ; we can't let you in if we want to. The wheel is sulky, and has been 
turning slow and ugly like that since noon to-day." 

"But I leave the city to-night," said the tutor, "and I will not leave 
without another ride in the great wheel." 

"Very good," said the man, turning on his heel; "get in if you can. 
The machinery is out of order, and we can't stop the wheel — maybe you 
can"; and he walked off whistling "Comrades." 

The man's indifference roused Mr. Douglass. "We '11 see," said he, 
"whether I won't have one more ride on the Ferris Wheel ! " 

After a brief glance around him, his eye caught the sign of the Bedouin 
encampment. Rushing toward it, he threw a twenty-dollar gold piece upon 
the counter, told the attendant to keep the change, and was soon in earnest 
conference with the Arab sheiks. 

He gave each a golden double eagle, and they bowed low. "Allah 
be praised, the white chief's will shall be done ! " they exclaimed. 

Then, without losing a moment, the three hurried to the great Ferris 
Wheel, which still went painfully, jerkily about, with a low growl that boded 



240 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



mischief. But if the wheel was out of temper, so was Mr. Douglass ; and, 
saying "Ready!" to the Arabs, he placed himself between them, one grasp- 
ing each of his arms. "Let go!" the tutor called; and at the word, the 
sinewy Arabs raised him from the ground, and, after one or two preliminary 



swings, hurled him through the air as if he had been a stone from a si 



mg. 




A GLIMPSE OF THE HORTICULTURAL DOME, 



Crash ! went the tutor through the glass, just scraping his way between 
two of the iron bars, but landing safely in a car. 

" There ! " he cried, " I shall have another ride in the wheel ! " 

Up it went, over, down, and he came slowly toward where the Arabs 
stood in earnest talk. As he approached, one stepped forward : 

" Give more bakshish ! " he cried, " or — " 

Mr. Douglass shook his head. The Arabs shook their fists. He 
laughed at them. Then, raging with fury, one turned and said in Arabic to 
the other : 

" Seeme letim sleyd ! " 

No sooner said than done. Each Bedouin seized one of the gigantic 
supports that upheld the wheel, and pulled with all his might. They were 
both well-developed and had a strong pull. With a long pull and a strong 
pull and a pull all together, they sprung out the supports, the great wheel 



MR. DOUGLASS HAS A REMARKABLE EXPERIENCE 



241 



fell from its place, and the Bedouins, seeing the mischief they had done — 
and perhaps repenting of it, for they were only hasty, not wicked — leaped 
upon their priceless donkeys, and were soon lost in the suburbs of Chicago. 
Unlike the cat, they did not return, and have nothing more to do with the 
story. But no doubt they often regretted, as they grew older, the hasty 
outburst of temper that was now to do so much mischief 

For the wheel, with Mr. Douglass an unwilling passenger, dropped to 
the ground, and rolled slowly up the Plaisance. 

Its first victim was the Turkish village, and when the wheel had passed, 
the village looked like a flat, hand-colored map. 

Mr. Douglass, as soon as he saw what the Arabs were at, had climbed 
out of the car, and, more like a spider than a tutor, made his way to the 




THE FISHERIES BUILDING, FROM ACROSS THE LAGOON. 



axle, where he stood upright, walking backward upon the axle as the wheel 
ran forward. From this well-chosen perch, he could, and did, witness the 
ensuing scene — which was described by the Chicago reporters as "unusual." 
The Turkish village, being a trifle lumpy, diverted the wheel but little, 
and the next assault was upon the corner of the Panorama of the Alps. 
The end of the canvas became entansfled in the wheel, and was stretched 
from one side to the other, so that subsequently many thought that there 
had been a land-slide when they saw the wheel pass. 



242 



HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 



Mr. Hagenbeck's far-famed Animal Show also came in for a share of 
damage, the wheel crushing one corner of the menagerie, and picking up 
the small performing-bear in such a way that he was compelled to leap from 
car to car as each came upright, and walk the wheel as if it were a circus 
ball. He was rescued unhurt, but considerably fatigued, when the wheel 
finally — but it was not yet through. 

Glancing to the other side of the Plaisance, the Libbey Glass Company 
was splintered into what one of the Irish dairymaids declared to be "smith- 
ereens," and the monster rolled onward to where the International Dress and 
Costume Exhibit was situated. Here it broke in one side of the building, and 
then, catching sight of the contents, with a shriek from every cog fled into 
the Fair Grounds, cutting its way through the Illinois Central and Intramu- 
ral bridges, with no more than slight crunches. The bear and Mr. Doug- 
lass were still walking their tread-mills, and the Panorama of the Alps still 
decorated a whole side of the wheel. 

But the great wheel, though out of temper, was not yet without feeling. 
It swerved aside upon reaching the Woman's Building, plunged into the La- 
goon, where, frightened by the squawking of the swans, it shot madly toward 
the Government Building. Probably it would have gone entirely through 

except for the fact that the Depart- 
ment of Justice lay directly in its 
course. It could not face the stern 
portraits of judges upon its walls, 
and, destroying only the big tree 
and a few other antiquities of slight 
importance, it encountered the Lib- 
eral Arts Building but slightly 
checked in speed. 

Mr. Douglass was tired of his 
ride, and, from the bear's growling, 
concluded that his fellow-passenger 
was also ready to stop. 

" I wish," said Mr. Douglass 
(never relaxing his backward walk), "that I had omitted this last visit to 
the Fair. It is rather exciting, but too wearisome after my long weeks of 
tramping. I am glad to see the Building of Manufactures ahead. The 
wheel may get through it, though I could n't ; but it won't go much 
farther." 

But he was wrong. The lath and plaster offered little resistance to the 
iron wheel, and the little elevator boy in the center of the building opened 




AT A DKINKING-FOUNTAIN. 



MR. DOUGLASS HAS A REMARKABLE EXPERIENCE 



243 




all the throttles, shot bodily out through the roof, elevator and all, and landed 
in the Viking ship, much put out but little hurt. 

On its way down the center aisle, the wheel picked up the big tele- 
scope, and on its next revolution flung that marvelous instrument high in 
air. But Ben Franklin was wait- 
ing for just such a chance, and he 
promptly accepted it. Chucking 
aside his key and kite-line, he stepped 
lightly out from the portico of the 
Electricity Building and caught the 
telescope on the fly (for which feat 
he afterward received a vote of thanks 
from the University of Chicago), 
placed it carefully on the Wooded 
Island, and modestly resumed his 
place on the pedestal, saying simply, 
"A penny saved is two pence clear." 

Cutting a clear channel through 
thebiggest building, the wheel leaped 
the Basin — a sight that so astonished 
Miss Progress that she called to the 
Sciences and Arts to save themselves, came down from her perch, fled shriek- 
ing into Machinery Hall, and took the Crane for the other end. 

Miss Republic noticed the passing of the wheel, but, until it was gone, 
did not understand what was going on. 

The wheel was now headed directly for Agricultural Hall, but as it 
came within a threatening distance, the three young women of the Zodiac 
family, with a single impulse, threw their globe at the wheel — at the same 
time uttering three shrieks that did more execution than the ball they had 
thrown. The ball shattered one of the towers on the Convent; but the 
shrieks saved the Agricultural Building, with all its priceless corn-cobs, pre- 
served prunes, and patent harvesters. 

Scared from its course, the wheel sought an avenue of escape. To Mr. 
Douglass's horror, and the bear's regret, its course lay toward the Moving 
Sidewalk. Striking the wrong (the incoming) side, the wheel began to see 
that it had made a mistake, for gradually it was compelled to slow up. 

Mr. Douglass and the performing-bear seized the opportunitj/ to take a 
short rest. Both were experienced travelers, and never failed to take ad- 
vantage of any chance to relieve the monotony of a journey. 

Meanwhile, an alarm had been sounded upon all the trumpets held by 



A LITTLE VISITOR. 



244 HARRY AND PHILIP AT THE FAIR 

figures upon the Administration Building ; telephones were at work calling 
aid ; the Fire Queen and all the patrol-wagons were dashing to and fro ; 
the Krupp gun was loaded and trained upon the wheel ; and all was bustle 
and excitement. 

Buffalo Bill, Texas Jack, and Professor Hagenbeck with high boots on, 
came riding like mad across the Court of Honor, and charged bravely down 
upon the motionless wheel. When within range, Mr. Cody opened fire, 
and succeeded in breaking all the windows that still remained intact in any 
of the wheel cars. Texas Jack lassoed the bear, and dragged the grateful 
beast from the top of the wheel, whereupon the professor consoled the little 
animal by giving him the usual lump of sugar taken from the professor's 
coat-tail pocket. Just at this moment, Engines "999," "John Bull," and "De 
Witt Clinton" arrived for the purpose of hauling the wheel back to its place. 

They were just too late. 

The wheel having lost headway and remained still for a short time, now 
began to be carried back along the sidewalk. It rounded the curve, ran 
along the pier to the end, and, on coming back, had acquired a speed that 
sent it off upon a new expedition. 

This time the Statue of the Republic realized there was something ir- 
regular in the action of the wheel, and aroused from her lethargy enough 
to step languidly ashore and let the wheel go by. The Krupp gun was 
discharged, but the missile, missing the wheel, put an end to the battle- 
ship "Illinois," who went into plaster chips with her flag still flying. 

Mr. Douglass said, pettishly, " I am getting very much bored at having 
to run about on this axle, and I do think the authorities of the Fair ought 
to do something to protect a visitor from such an accident." 

But his conscience told him that he had done wrong in entering the 
wheel without having secured permission. 

As the great unicycle ran for the Transportation Building, the statue 
of " Land " remarked, " For the land's sake ! " and hastily put on brakes, a 
course for which he was commended by Messrs. Fulton and Watt, his neigh- 
bors. Stephenson, however, blamed him for not first securing one of the 
air-brakes, of which there were plenty inside the building. 

Striking the Intramural line, the wheel ran over Festival Hall, explod- 
ing the bellows of the great organ, and then ran triumphantly up and 
bursted the Horticultural bubble of glass. 

Just here, however, the wheel and Mr. Douglass caught sight of the 
dome of the Illinois State Building, and the iron creature turned aside with 
a sigh that could be plainly heard at the British Building on the lake-shore, 
and then ran down the Midway like a hunted stag. 



NEW YORK, LAST STOP, ALL OUT 



245 



Here Professor Hagenbeck and his young men received the wheel with 
stern o-lances that even that awful monster of iron and glass found irresisti- 
ble. With a few lashes of his long whip, the professor soon reduced the 
wheel to submission, and at the word of command it ran to its place, 
climbed into position, and was still. The professor immediately gave the 
wheel a lump of sugar from his coat-tail pocket, patted it upon the cogs, 
and saying, "There will be no further trouble, I think," walked serenely 
back to lunch. 

He had forgotten Mr. Douglass! 

How was the poor tutor to reach the ground? 

He tried to climb down one of the spokes, but slipped, lost his hold, and 
was falling, falling, fall — 

"I really believe, boys," said Mr. Douglass, "that I 've been asleep. 
I 've had a remarkable dream. It was — " But the brakeman called : 

" New York, last stop, all out ! " 








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